


Warmblood Virus Mutate

by RainbowPixieCat



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sickfic, Vomit, emeto, puke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 02:33:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16986489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowPixieCat/pseuds/RainbowPixieCat
Summary: It's a human's turn to catch the warmblood virus and Dave just so happens to be the lucky recipient of a mutated version of this monster illness. Puke...lots of it...to be expected. Thankfully, a reincarnated version of Bro (beta Dirk) is in his life to make sure he doesn't cark it. His friends visit too. And Jake tries his best.





	Warmblood Virus Mutate

**Author's Note:**

> Another emeto fic uploaded from my tumblr, since I'm not sure if they're gonna delete the ones on there. If you've read any of my other works at all, you know this is kink fic. Vomity vomity goodness. Don't read if you don't like puke. You will just be punishing yourself.

Dirk never thought anything of it. The thing Jake had told him when he was on the phone to him last week. Jake loved to travel and he would journey to lots of different places for work, so he and Dirk stayed in touch via phone calls, Skype and text chats. Jake worked as an English teacher in the new world. He promised Dirk he’d eventually come home and settle down but he wanted to see the world and explore before settling in. Teaching English to foreign students of all age groups let him do just that. This included trolls and humans. That’s right, after the game was won and Lord English was defeated, they got a new planet to call home and trolls and humans were resurrected right into the re-made world that was waiting for them. The kid’s guardians were reborn as better people, more like the type of guardians they had wished for. And the kids themselves had been aged down again, which was kind of annoying for them but at least they got to go back to school and continue where they left off on their studies. They still retained all their memories from before though. 

The new planet was a mixture of a young, healthy Earth with modern buildings and technology and Beforus/Alternia, the troll planet. The new world was bigger than old Earth and the trolls’ planet combined. It was sort of mixed and shaken together. People had been resurrected along with buildings and animals. Jake was currently in New Japan; a mixture of East Beforus countries with an altered, larger Japan. Jake’s students always found it amusing that his name was Mister English and he was here to teach English. Jake originally came from the UK in England, which made it even funnier. England had expanded to twice its original size and was now called Double England. There were lots of changes not only to the planet but to the people as well. 

Trolls for instance, could now reproduce with each other instead of using the mother grub and had fertile periods on a certain month that corresponded to their star sign. They had also been changed to be diurnal, the same as humans, even though they looked the same as before. A lot of them adopted the more human relationship styles instead of sticking to the old quadrants. Matesprits and moirails were prevalent but kismesis’ and auspistices were becoming a thing of the past, possibly because the only pairing that resulted in offspring was a matespritship with strong bonds. Trolls also weren’t vicious and militant any more. They were more like the gentle Beforean trolls of the past and tried to integrate themselves into human society. The sunshine of the new planet wasn’t deathly either; it was warm and gentle, though they did have two moons, one pink and one white. 

Dancestors, such as Meenah, became guardians for the younger trolls. For instance, Meenah was now Feferi’s guardian. The instinct or urge to kill any other fuchsia blood trolls was no longer part of their makeup. But the two had different personalities and tended to clash over certain things. Still, at least they got to lead relatively normal lives in their shared home. 

Humans had changed too. People no longer suffered the effects of physically aging. This meant once they grew to be young adults, they retained their youthful bodies despite the passing years plus they had all been given longer life spans. They’d also been allowed to retain some of their powers, which could be passed down through genetics.   
Of course, all that being said, Jake was the guardian for Jade. Not wanting to pull her away from her friends or school, he paid for people to take care of the house and look after her, in case she needed anything. John had his young father, Josh. Rose had her mother, Roxy. And Dave had Dirk. Confusingly, the young Dirk, Jake, Jane and Roxy were also alive and had their guardians too. 

Anyway, everyone had agreed that they wanted to live close to each other. The original group that had played the game were all resurrected living in New America, not far from each other. The older trolls and humans got jobs while the younger ones all went to the same school. 

Jake and Dirk got together almost straight away. Though they hadn’t moved in together yet, Jake was going to move in once he got back from teaching overseas. They had a weekly phone call to catch up on everything and talk. Jake had mentioned about the new warmblood virus going around and while they were conversing, he’d mentioned something strange; that a few humans in some areas he’d been to seemed to be showing the same symptoms. 

That was the first they’d heard of it. Dirk didn’t think much of it, it was a minor detail and not likely to affect them. Or so he thought. Dave had said some of his friends at school had it; first Tavros, then Karkat, then some of the dancestors; Kankri and Mituna. It seemed to be dying down by that point and everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief as they got back to their lives and moved on from it. 

*****

Dave came home early from visiting his friends after school. It was a Friday and it was strange for him to be home this early but Bro just figured he was tired from the week of high school and homework, and everything that came with being a teenager. 

Bro hadn’t made dinner yet. He called out to Dave “Hey, you’re back early. Did you eat yet? I’m making dinner”

Dave slouched into the kitchen and dumped his school bag on the floor, sinking into a chair. He leaned back with a sigh, pushing a hand through his hair. “No. But I’m not hungry. Think I’ll turn in early tonight” He was exhausted. He figured it was all the late nights staying up and playing online with his friends, or doing homework. 

“What are you; an old man? A baby? Since when do you go to bed at 7:00pm?” Bro teased him, walking around the kitchen and getting ingredients and utensils out. He started to chop some vegetables on the chopping board. The sound of the knife hitting wood seemed to thud in time with Dave’s headache. 

“What are you making? Not pizza again” Dave asked, and sounded apprehensive about it. He really didn’t have an appetite tonight. He’d snacked on Doritos, candy and cookies at John’s house but those had sort of settled like small rocks or glue in his system. They hadn’t tasted as great as he remembered and he didn’t get the same enjoyment out of eating them that he normally would. The idea of pizza made him feel slightly grossed out. 

“Stir fry and rice” Bro answered, chopping up some more ingredients with lightning speed. “Don’t tell me you pigged out on snacks and junk food at your friend’s house. You know better than that. And I’m actually making something decent. I’ve been learning to cook. Jake has some good recipes that he shared with me. I know I never cooked in the past but that was a different bro. I’m better than he is” he stated, putting a wok on the stove and pouring some oil into it. He walked over to the fridge and got out a pack of beef strips, going back to the pre heating wok and waiting for it to be hot enough. He got the rice cooker out and poured in two cups of rice and some water. After a while, he started putting beef strips into the wok and they sizzled loudly. 

“No, I didn’t. I mean, I had some snacks but I left room for real food. I just don’t have an appetite right now” Dave leaned on the table and rested his head on his hands, languidly watching bro cook. He could feel his headache behind his eyes, throbbing. He tried not to cringe from the pain. “And I know you are” he paused “Thanks” 

Bro raised his hand in a gesture that meant ‘no problem’ as he continued to cook, his back turned to Dave. “Well that’s weird. You’re usually starving after school. Plus you’re a growing boy. Are you feeling alright?” Bro paused stirring and tossing the beef strips around, turning from his task to scrutinise Dave. 

This made Dave sit up straight. He instantly started to act like he was fine, finger combing his hair back into place and pushing his shades back up where they’d slipped. “No, no, I’m fine. Just tired after a long week, that’s all. And I stayed up studying a lot this week” he covered a yawn. 

“Hah. Studying how to play video games” Bro snorted, adding the vegetables to the wok to cook them. 

“Come to think of it, I am kind of hungry” Dave said suddenly, “That smells good” It didn’t. In fact it made him feel faintly nauseous. But he didn’t want Bro to know that he was feeling kind of under the weather. It was tiredness, lack of appetite and a headache. Maybe he just needed rest after all. Maybe food would help. He probably just needed energy, he told himself. Dave stood, picking up his bag. It felt extremely heavy. Odd, it hadn’t felt that heavy this morning. Dave had opted to walk to school today, ever since a few days before when some troll kid threw up on his school bus. He didn’t want to get whatever was going around, even if the warmblood virus wasn’t contagious to humans or cold blood trolls. Maybe he was just a bit run down. His body needed to rest. Yeah. 

“Kay, go put your bag away and wash your hands. This should be ready in fifteen minutes” bro said “Why don’t you go sit on the couch and watch TV? I’ll bring dinner out to you” he added. “We can eat on the couch tonight” 

“Cool. Thanks bro” Dave mumbled, rising to his feet and slinging his backpack over one arm as he carried it towards his bedroom, his legs shaking slightly as he tried not to lean sideways under the weight of the pack. He entered the room and dumped the bag on the floor beside his computer desk. Dave eyed his bed, still messy and rumpled from when he got up this morning. He entertained the urge to flop down and close his eyes for a few minutes but decided against it. As tired as he was, he didn’t want to fall asleep. Or bro would know something was wrong. Dave didn’t want to appear weak in front of him. He knew this was a reincarnated version of bro, the kind of bro he always wished for. But he still didn’t want to disappoint him or let him down. He knew most children were seen as annoying by their parents and Dave strived to be different, to be the exception to the rule, to make his bro actually think he was cool. Plus, even though he secretly yearned to be taken care of by bro when he was younger, he still had all of his memories from playing the game and aging up, everything that happened. He’d become an adult. Being de-aged again was weird. It made him feel awkward about wanting to be cared for. He’d be embarrassed at another grown man taking care of him like that. At what bro would think of him.

Dave dragged himself down the hall to the bathroom, the ache in his skull persistent, the pain rising and dulling in small waves. He reached for the bathroom cabinet and took out some Panadol, popping one of the small white tablets out of the foil. He tossed it in his mouth and leaned down to get a drink of cold water from the tap, gulping down several mouthfuls to help him swallow the pill without it sticking in his throat. He straightened up and swallowed once more, feeling it go down, slowly, slowly. It was unpleasant but hopefully worth it to knock the headache out. Dave breathed in then out in a long sigh through his nose, placing his hands on the counter and leaning forwards. He pulled his glasses down to inspect his eyes. There were dark smudges underneath them and they looked slightly bloodshot. His skin was pale and washed out. Dave sighed again, then stood back up, covering another yawn. His eyes watered and he rubbed at them. Maybe bro was right; maybe he just needed to eat some healthy food and get a good long sleep. Dave perked up a bit at the idea. It was probably just a cold, or his body was run down and needed time to recharge. 

Dave used the toilet and washed his hands before heading back down the hall to the living room. He flopped on the futon and grabbed the remote which was already lying on the seat. He started to flick through channels until he found one with anime and started to watch it, getting absorbed in the show. His brother encouraged a healthy love and respect for the art of Japanese animation. It seemed like no time at all before his brother was bringing him dinner. Bro walked over and handed Dave a plate with food and a fork, sitting down carefully on the other end of the couch and setting his plate in his lap. He started eating, appraising his work. “Hmm, not bad, not bad. I think I’m getting better at cooking” he said as he tasted the food. “What do you think, Dave?” he turned to look at him. 

Dave woodenly chewed and swallowed the mouthful of meat, veggies and rice, feeling the large chewy lump slowly going down to his stomach. It wasn’t burnt or weird flavours and it didn’t have a strange texture, which was saying something about Bro’s efforts to improve. “S’good” he mumbled, “I like the cashews” he scooped up another forkful and ate it to prove his point, crunching one of the nuts Bro put in it. He kept his eyes on the TV. Looking at the food made his stomach feel tight. But Bro had really done well and Dave wanted to encourage him, so he forced himself to go through the motions of eating. 

“Yeah? Well it’s good for you; you probably need some iron. Beef and broccoli both contain it. Ya can’t just live on Doritos and takeout all the time. It’s not good for your body” Bro said conversationally. He’d noticed that Dave looked a bit pale, and his body language hinted that he was more tired than he was letting on. Bro never needed to ask Dave when he was sick, or when something was wrong. He always found out some way or another. Dave never admitted to feeling bad but Bro always figured it out eventually. Maybe he was coming down with a cold, or just needed a good rest. Proper nutrition would certainly help matters. “So, Inuyasha, good classic anime” he commented, watching the TV screen. “Who do you think would win in a fight; me or the dog demon?” 

“Inuyasha would kick your ass, bro” Dave snickered, but his grin quickly faded. 

“What? No way. I can’t believe your faith in my abilities is so low, even after I taught you how to strife and flash step. C’mon, I’d totally be the one kicking his ass! Especially if I pick a day when he transforms” 

“Okay, but you wouldn’t win against Sesshomaru” Dave grudgingly replied. “Fighting him in his human form is cheating by the way” 

As they continued to watch the show and eat, Dave ended up pushing the food around on his plate. He ate as much as he could and he felt like he had reached his limits. His stomach felt full and heavy and he started to feel nauseated when he tried to make his body consume more of the food. Dave took a tiny bite and chewed mechanically. Gotta finish it. Can’t let Bro suspect anything. He had to act normal and he knew that normally he’d be hungry enough to polish it off quickly. 

Bro set down his empty plate, noticing that Dave’s still had food on it. “Everything alright with the food? Do you not like it? It’s okay if you don’t” he said. “You don’t have to force yourself to eat it if it’s shit” 

Dave stabbed a piece of meat and bit it off the fork, chewing out of reflex. “Mm, no, it’s fine. I’m just kind of full. You were right; shouldn’t have snacked at John’s house earlier. But I’ll finish it” he tacked on, determined to erase any hint of abnormal behaviour. Dave sped up his eating pace, taking big mouthfuls of rice and stir fry, chewing them up, swallowing with some difficulty. Once his plate was empty, he sat back with a hand on his stomach and rubbed it, his other hand covering his mouth as he let out some quiet burps. He felt really uncomfortable. His stomach almost ached. He could feel things churning and gurgling inside and he suppressed the urge to let out a soft groan, hoping things would settle down if he sat still and relaxed. “Thanks Bro, it was good” he said, without enthusiasm. 

“No problem. I’m glad you liked it” Bro got up off the couch, taking their plates. He went into the kitchen and Dave could hear the sink taps being turned on and water running. It was Bro’s turn to wash the dishes tonight. 

Dave sat back on the futon and rubbed his full belly, trying to relax as much as possible. He felt lightheaded and slightly dizzy. His body felt heavy and drained, limbs like weights. And he was starting to feel overly warm as well, sweat prickling under his arms and forming on his nose and cheeks, making his shades slip down. He pulled them off, wiped the sweat off onto his t-shirt and wiped the glasses nose pads with his thumb before putting them back on. Dave pulled at his clothes, trying to let air get to his skin. 

On top of feeling lethargic and general malaise, he noticed a growing discomfort in his insides; pain and nausea. He realised he’d started taking shallow breaths through his mouth at some point. Something shifted in his gut and Dave covered another burp as he felt his stomach churn. He could faintly hear Bro washing the dishes in the background. Dave sat and watched TV for a while, channel flicking to different programs, willing himself to feel better. None of them held his attention for long. It was too hard to focus. He had to tune his body’s discomforts out but it grew harder and harder to do so. He shifted positions on the couch and grasped at his stomach. 

Eventually, he was feeling so sick he knew he was going to vomit at some point. But maybe he could stave it off somehow. Dave shakily got to his feet and swayed a tiny bit as the world seemed to tilt and slowly spin round him. He turned to trudge out of the living room and into the kitchen. A glass of cold apple juice might help, sipped slowly. It was all he could think of. He felt a short, sharp spasm in his upper abdomen and wrapped an arm around his stomach, letting out the faintest of groans, slowly breathing out air through clenched teeth. He swallowed, finding extra sweet saliva built up in his mouth. Dave continued moving forwards. His upper abdomen and the back of his throat both felt uncomfortable, the nausea affecting those areas most. Dave forced himself to take quick steps into the kitchen, arm still absentmindedly wrapped around his middle. He went straight to the fridge, pulling it open and letting his arm drop. Too obvious and Bro would notice. 

Dave searched with fumbling, shaky hands for the carton of apple juice. He took it out, geez it felt heavy, and got a glass from one of the cupboards. He poured out a full cup and as it sloshed into the glass, he felt his stomach flip and do another spasm, this time one that seemed to catch in his throat. He swallowed down the silent gag and hurried to sit down in a chair at the kitchen table, plonking into it bonelessly. 

“Getting a drink?” Bro asked, his back still to Dave as he was writing something in a book. Probably adjusting the recipe notes Jake had given him and deciding what to cook tomorrow night. 

Dave didn’t reply. He didn’t trust himself to open his mouth. He raised the glass of juice with a trembling hand and started to panic as he took a sip and an intense wave of nausea rolled through his body. Uh oh, no, maybe he should say something. He didn’t feel good. He was going to faint. No-ugh- he urgently tried to get words out just as the sensations of swirling sickness became overwhelming “Bro! I think I’m g-” his words were cut off as a huge splatter of liquid and half digested food ejected itself from his system. 

“Shit, Dave did you just spill the…ohh, fuck” Bro had grabbed the dishcloth and turned around only to see Dave and the table and floor splattered with vomit “That’s not apple juice” 

The glass of juice slipped out of Dave’s numb fingers as he spasmed again and brought up another chunky stream, all down his front and lap. Bro moved quickly, flash stepping to Dave’s side and pulling him up. He clamped one hand over Dave’s mouth and marched him towards the bathroom, holding Dave up against his body “Bathroom, bathroom, bathroom” Bro muttered, hurrying his kid along. He felt Dave jerk against his hand and warm slush splurt out from under it. Bro hurried Dave into said room and steered him over to the toilet, removing his hand as Dave’s body did an impression of a fire hose at full blast. Puke slapped the side of the toilet, the seat and the floor, but some of it got in the bowl. Bro yanked some toilet paper from the roll and wiped his hand, crouching down to rub Dave’s back “Should’a realised you weren’t feeling great. Damn I’m an idiot” he said, as Dave gripped the side of the bowl and leaned over, resting his head on his other arm. Dave made soft struggling noises, burps and quiet gags as he threw up, eyes watering and nose running. It was forceful enough to spurt out his nose earlier and apparently his nose didn’t like that. “Easy, easy….you’re all right” Bro soothed, continuing to rub up and down Dave’s back. “Should’a told me sooner, I would’a helped you”

Dave gagged and gurgled, the sound of heavy liquid burbling into the toilet water. Bro sighed, reaching around to press a hand against Dave’s sticky forehead, pushing his sweaty hair back “Oh yeah, you’re warm. Got a fever” he noted, removing his hand. He gently pressed his hand on Dave’s shoulder for a moment “Stay there honey, don’t move” 

Dave stayed. He was so dizzy and his stomach was hurting worse than before. His throat and nose were burning from the stomach acid in the puke. He coughed and tried to catch his breath, trembling like a leaf. “Fuuuck” he quietly swore under his breath. His throat and stomach seized in a sharp gag and forced his head down as another gush leaped out of his throat and sloppily smacked down into the water. Dave gasped and coughed weakly, spitting out remnants of foul tasting sludge. He faintly recognised Bro moving around the place but it was a vague recognition paired with slight annoyance at not knowing what he was doing. Then he felt something blissfully cool pressed to the back of his neck and sighed. It was a cool, damp cloth. “Thanks Bro” Dave mumbled out, “Ughhhh” he released the side of the toilet bowl to grip his stomach again as a painful aching sensation twisted through it, and came in contact with the unpleasantly warm, wet, bad smelling splatters that were smeared all over his clothes. It felt disgusting and he wasn’t surprised when his insides seized and another waterfall poured out of his mouth. He felt Bro’s hand on his back again and tried to focus on that instead of the horrible feelings taking over the rest of his body. 

Bro stayed with him, calm and cool as always, and said reassuring things as Dave’s stomach made sure it was empty of every last thing. Dave lost track of time, but when it was finally over, he felt like a wrung out rag, or a punching bag. He groaned and closed his eyes, wanting to sleep. His head swam. 

“You okay? Think you’re done for now?” Bro asked, soothingly rubbing his back. 

Dave made a soft noise that was half moan and meant yes. He was too dizzy to move though, so he just stayed where he was; numbly aware that his legs had gotten uncomfortable on the hard tiled floor and had pins and needles. Bro’s contact ceased and he heard footsteps pad lightly around the room, the tap running…then a cool cloth was wiping Dave’s face and neck. 

“Get you all cleaned off and then into bed” Bro said reassuringly. “But first get you outta those clothes. Come here, c’mon” 

Dave felt arms go around him and he was pulled backwards onto Bro’s lap, away from the toilet. Hands quickly grabbed the hem of his shirt and rolled it up on itself before pulling it up over Dave’s head. Bro’s hands went to Dave’s pants and undid those as well, pulling them off. “Can you get in the shower on your own or do you need help?” 

Dave leaned into Bro, taking shallow breaths “Uhh” 

“It’s okay. Just take a moment to rest” Bro said calmly. “I’ll go get you some clothes and a towel. You get in the shower when you’re ready” 

“Mmhm” Dave hummed affirmatively. “Fuckin sucks” 

“I know, I know. Hey, take some slow, deep breaths...slow, yeah that’s it” Bro gave him a couple of minutes then tried again “How are you now? Can you stand?” a hand brushed Dave’s hair out of his eyes. 

Dave blinked slowly a few times and hesitantly tried sitting up, leaning away from Bro. His head felt heavy and his abs felt bruised but he didn’t keel over. He was still shaking but not as much as before. His stomach seemed to have settled down for the time being. He was still nauseous but he didn’t think he was going to vomit anything else up. It didn’t feel like there was anything even left in him to vomit. “’m good” Dave murmured. 

Bro stood up and helped Dave to his feet, only letting go once he was sure Dave was steady. He walked over to the shower and turned it on, testing the temperature to make sure it was warm but not hot, and not too cold either. “Alright. Shower’s on. Get out of your underwear and rinse off. I’ll leave your clothes and towel on the top of the laundry basket” 

Bro left the room and Dave took the opportunity to slowly, painfully bend down and slip out of his underwear. He left them on the floor with his slimy clothes and teetered over to the shower, climbing in, supporting himself by grabbing the side of the door and the taps. Dave sighed at the soothing, warm water on his skin and tummy. He stood under the flow, getting clean. He washed his hair since he was pretty sure he got puke in it, and washed his body to get the smell off his skin. Once he turned the shower off and opened the sliding door, he found a large thick bath towel atop a pile of comfortable and loose clothes. Dave wrapped himself in it and dried himself off, making sure to dry his hair as well.   
He pulled on the clothes (pyjamas), feeling better than before but wrinkled his nose at the smell in the bathroom. Dave tried not to look at the mess around and on the toilet or floor. He tiptoed back out to the kitchen, one arm lightly circling his stomach as his hand gently gripped his cotton, long sleeve shirt. He saw Bro cleaning up the floor with a mop. The kitchen bin stood nearby with plastic bag full of disgusting paper towels used to pick up the mess. “Sorry…” Dave apologised. Awkward, embarrassed. He felt his cheeks burning with a mixture of shame and fever. 

“It’s okay. Not your fault. Sometimes accidents happen” Bro said, dipping the mop back into the bucket, wringing it out and moving to mop it over the linoleum floor again. Dave noticed the smashed glass and apple juice were cleared up too. “Go get into bed. I’ll bring you a glass of water n’ meds, and check your temperature. You need to rest”

He looked up and caught sight of Dave’s guilty face. “Hey, kid, don’t worry about it. It’s gross but it’s natural. Everyone gets sick sometimes. Just go and lie down and I’ll be in soon, kay. I’m not mad” Bro paused his work, leaning on the mop somewhat. He seemed to have an afterthought “Oh, be careful where you step. There’s a trail from here down the hallway to the bathroom. I’ll clean it up”

“Oh god bro, I am so sorry” 

“Shh, it’s fine. Go. Rest. Now” Bro pointed and Dave complied, turning away from the kitchen and slumping down the hallway back towards the bedrooms. He nudged open his door with his shoulder and walked over to his bed, carefully crawling up onto it and pulling up the rumpled sheets from down at the end. He picked his sunglasses off his face and set them on the bedside table. He lay down and shivered, feeling hot and sweaty but also strangely had chills. Dave curled up gingerly and closed his eyes. He was so tired and sore. He made a soft whimper then yawned. He still felt somewhat nauseous. His eyes tiredly looked around his room but he kept blinking and his eyelids felt heavy. Dave drifted into a light snooze, half aware of his surroundings, trying to stay awake for Bro but wanting very badly to just sink into oblivion. 

Sometime later, just as he was beginning to slip into dreamless sleep, he heard someone enter his room, quiet footsteps, then a hand was on his shoulder, shaking him awake. “Hey lil’ bro. How’re you feeling? Can you sit up for me?” Bro asked. 

Dave was immediately awake. He struggled to sit up, grasping his sore stomach as he pushed himself to a sitting position. He realised he was hot and sticky from sweat.   
“Got you some water and meds” Bro said. “But first- temperature. Open up” 

Bro was holding a thermometer. He placed the end in Dave’s mouth, under his tongue. It made Dave feel sick but he swallowed back the sensations and held it in his mouth for as long as he could. It was starting to get unbearable, until it beeped and Bro removed it and brought it up to his face. 

“Huhh…38 point 9. That’s pretty high” he frowned. “You picked up one hell of a bug” 

Dave groaned softly then huffed, “Hmph. Tell me about it” he muttered with a frown. “Been extra careful lately too” 

“I know. It’s not fair. But hey, these things pass” Bro said, sitting on the edge of Dave’s bed and measuring out a spoonful of lavender coloured anti-emetic. “Here, drink this. It’ll stop the puking. And I got somethin’ for the fever” 

Dave leaned over and took the spoon in his mouth, eating the purple goop off of it while Bro was still holding it. It was some weird flavour he couldn’t pinpoint. He made a face as he pulled back, tasting it and sort of chewing it back a few times. 

Bro chuckled, reminded of Dave doing that with new foods or medicine as a baby “It’s blackcurrant. Supposed to be anyway” he supplied helpfully, checking the bottle. 

“S’better than puking” Dave consented. “Even though it tastes like it was made by witches” 

Bro handed him a glass of water and a white pill “Now to knock out the fever” He noticed Dave’s hand was shaking a lot as he struggled to hold onto the glass and reached out his hands to help him, bringing it to his lips. Dave tossed back the pill and took a few careful gulps of water before turning his face away. Bro knew that signal too, and put the glass on the bedside table “I’ll leave this here for you. You should try to finish it; you’re probably dehydrated after all the puking” He reached out and patted Dave’s head briefly “Try to get some rest. I’ll be in and out to check on you. And hey; these things usually clear up in 24 hours”

Dave lay back down on his side and managed a faint smile “Thanks, Bro” he closed his eyes and sleep gently yet swiftly claimed him in a matter of minutes. He didn’t hear bro walking quietly out of the room.

***** 

Dave awoke after an indeterminate amount of time. The dimly lit room looked shadowy but he could make out basic objects and shapes from the sliver of light coming through the door which Bro had left slightly ajar. 

He noticed his body still felt very heavy and that he was exhausted. He lay there and tried to drift back to sleep but ended up tossing and turning, giving up when trying different positions didn’t help. Dave carefully rolled onto his back and rubbed his stomach. His insides were still really sore and he could feel that his stomach was bloated. It was softly churning and letting out quiet growls. His light cotton top and pants were sticking to him again. He pushed his sheets off, kicking them down the bottom of the bed and pulling his pyjama shirt up to let air get onto his skin. It was too warm and stuffy in here, even though the ceiling fan was on. 

Dave’s eyes began to adjust to the dimness more and he saw his trash bin beside his bed, lined with a fresh plastic bin liner. Bro must have put that there. Thoughtful. Considerate. Dave hoped he wouldn’t need to use it again. He slowly sat up and took a moment to get his bearings as the room spun and seemed to lift and fall around him. Dave’s mouth was dry and tasted bad. He reached out for the glass of water and had to hold it with both hands, downing the remnants of the glass with careful gulps. He’d pause after each swallow, let the water travel down then take another. Soon the glass was empty and Dave felt the tiniest hint of achievement at completing this task. 

Since he didn’t want to lie in his room, bored and miserable, Dave decided to get up. He was feeling a bit lonely too, and thought it would be nice to seek out Bro for some company. For some reason, when you’re sick, other people can seem far away. The lights in the house were still on so that meant Bro was still up. 

Dave headed down the hall to the bathroom first, going to relieve himself and wash his hands. He had to keep one hand on the wall for balance and move slowly, since if he moved too fast, his body threatened to collapse on him. Dave finished in the bathroom and stumbled his way back down the hall and into the living room. He suddenly felt like he needed to sit down very badly, as his legs felt like jelly and he was so lightheaded, the room was blurring. He made it over to the futon and crawled up on the couch-bed, getting comfortable. Dave hadn’t realised that he’d closed his eyes until he felt a cool, dry hand touch his forehead. 

“Still got a fever. Did you get sick in the bathroom just now?” Bro. 

“No” Dave mumbled, shaking his head but he quickly stopped because of a swirl of vertigo. 

“Well that’s good. You haven’t puked for a couple of hours. You were out for two and a half” Bro answered, removing his hand. He took note of how pale and flushed Dave looked. “You wanna try some broth and crackers? Gotta keep up your fluid intake and it’ll give you some energy” 

Dave didn’t have an appetite but he opened his eyes and looked at Bro. “Okay…” he hesitantly agreed. “Just hope I don’t throw up anymore”

“It’s better to have something in your stomach even if you do throw up. Way more painful to have the dry heaves and be spitting up bile” Bro informed him. “I’ll go get you a little bit of something and bring it out in a minute” 

“Mmnn” Dave groaned out, a tired and grudging assent. 

Bro frowned. He hated seeing Dave so sick and uncomfortable. He wished he could do more to help him. He wished he was sick instead of Dave. “Hang in there Lil man” Bro said softly, giving Dave one more visual check over before he turned and went into the kitchen to prepare a bowl of broth and a few crackers. 

Dave was mindlessly watching TV, flicking through the different channels, when he felt a nudge on his arm and looked up to see Bro carrying a tray bearing a bowl, a plate of crackers and a glass of apple juice. “Here, late night snack” Bro said, placing the tray on Dave’s lap. 

Dave took it “Thanks” he said in monotone. 

“Geez, don’t sound so excited” Bro teased. Dave quirked a small smile at that which seemed to relieve Bro of some worry. “Okay, I’m gonna be in the computer room doing some stuff. I’ll be back in to check on ya in a while. Try to eat as much as you can but don’t force it. If you start to feel sick, holler and I’ll come help you” 

“Kay” Dave said, “Thanks Bro” 

“No problem” a dismissive wave. 

He looked at the tray on his lap and sighed, reaching out to pick up the spoon and stir some of the broth around with a dubious expression. He summed up the will to try a bite and scooped some of the broth on the spoon, bringing it to his mouth and slowly, carefully sipping it. Dave waited. Nothing really happened. He relaxed a bit and bravely decided to try another mouthful. He was able to finish the bowl of broth and nibble down all three crackers, finishing off with the apple juice which he also sipped slowly. When he was done, he put the tray aside and watched TV, trying to distract himself from feeling crappy. After ten minutes, he noticed his stomach felt really full and gurgly. There wasn’t any nausea but it just felt really uncomfortable. Everything was moving around inside. Dave absentmindedly rubbed it, hoping the stuff he ate would settle down. He burped quietly behind a hand, gaining momentary relief. He tried to force some more air out but wasn’t able to. He wondered if this was how babies felt when they had trapped air inside them. No wonder they cried. There was just so much pressure. Dave kept watching TV. After a while, he noticed the sounds coming from his stomach were getting pretty loud. He could feel it bubbling and sloshing around. He kept his arms wrapped around himself. He figured he could tolerate this. He didn’t need to worry Bro. He didn’t call out for him even when his stomach started to ache. It was painful but he could deal. Dave began to sweat again and started feeling hot. He remained as motionless as possible and tried to ignore it, since the ceiling fan was already on high. 

Another ten minutes passed and Bro walked into the room, heading over to Dave. He took the tray and noted all the food was gone. Bro set it down on the coffee table. “Wow. You managed to eat it all. I’m impressed” Bro commented. “How are you feeling? Is your stomach hurting?” he noticed Dave had wrapped his arms around it. A horrible gurgling sound emitted from it. “That doesn’t sound good. Do you feel nauseous at all?” 

Dave shook his head minutely “No” he tried to keep his face impassive but couldn’t help a frown when it rumbled again. 

“Dave, tell me what’s wrong. What’s happening?” Bro demanded gently yet firmly. 

“I…I don’t feel nauseous but I’m really hot and uncomfortable and I just feel ‘off’ somehow” Dave admitted, trying to keep the whine out of his voice. He so badly wanted all of Bro’s attention and any help he could give him. But he didn’t want to seem like a pathetic whiny baby either. It was the middle of the night, he was sure Bro would like to go to bed and get some sleep. “N’ I can’t sleep, cause it just feels, I don’t know, ughhh” he made a noise of disgust and discomfort. “So I’m just tryn’a watch TV; take my mind off shit till it settles” 

“Okay” Bro said. “Wait there. I’m going to take this to the kitchen then I want to take your temperature again”. He picked up the tray and walked off with it and Dave heard his footsteps move from the kitchen to the hallway and into his bedroom then down the hall again and come back into the lounge room. Dave took his eyes off the TV as Bro knelt in front of him and held up a thermometer. “Open up for me” 

Dave obediently opened his mouth and let Bro slide the hard thermometer under his tongue. It felt uncomfortable but he closed his mouth and held it until it beeped. Bro took it out and had a look at it. He frowned “Your temp’s creeping back up. Think it’s still too soon for another fever reducer though” 

He placed down something pink and plastic beside the couch. “Brought Dame Edna for you. Just in case you need her” he said patting the thing with his hand twice for emphasis. Dame Edna was the bucket they used whenever they were sick enough to vomit. It was covered in sparkly stickers of unicorns, fairies, Hello Kitty and more, and had a face drawn on it in Sharpie with a pair of glittery purple glasses over the eyes and a pair of big, plush smiling lips. Of course, they had other buckets and containers in the laundry but this one was ironic and made to cheer up its users in shitty situations. Plus the other ones were used mainly for cleaning or for soaking stained items. 

Dave cracked a weak smile “Thanks Bro. I’ll be fine out here. Why don’t you go get some sleep? I can take care of myself” he said, trying to sound confident and not betray the trace of fear he felt at his situation. 

Bro hesitated, then seemed to relent. He’d been at work today while Dave was at school and he was tired. “Well, fine, okay. Hold on a sec” Bro flashed out of sight and Dave heard noises from down the hallway, then in the kitchen. Bro reappeared holding the pack of white pills and a glass of ice water. “I’ll leave this here for you. Take it in another two hours. You’re only allowed four in a twenty four hour period so we gotta space ‘em out” he advised, setting the stuff down on the coffee table. 

He looked at Dave, staring into his crimson eyes from behind his triangle shades “You sure you don’t need anything? I could stay up and watch something with you, if you want”

“Nah it’s fine. I’m jus’ gonna channel surf and try to fall back asleep” Dave insisted, waving a hand lazily. 

“Alright. Well, call me if you need anything. And if you get sick again. I need to know” Bro said. He rubbed a hand over his face and sighed, “I might go catch some Zs but I’ll be back up to check on you later lil dude. G’night” Bro ruffled Dave’s hair with a head pat and then walked off, presumably to go jump into bed.

Dave turned his attention back to the TV. 

***

Bro heard his alarm go off. He reached for his phone and swiped the screen, shutting up the alarm. Bro yawned and sat up in bed, scrubbing sleep out of his eyes. He checked the time. It was 1:45am. He’d been able to get roughly an hour’s sleep. He reached for his shades and slipped them on, getting out of bed. He needed to check on Dave. Worry gnawed at him along with a feeling that something wasn’t quite right. He quickened his pace down the hallway and stepped into the living room, bare feet near silent on the carpet. The TV was still on. He walked around to get a better view of the couch and saw his child was asleep. No wait, he wasn’t sleeping. 

Dave was sitting with his arms loosely around his stomach, head tilted to one side, breathing through his mouth, panting. His eyes were open, just barely and he looked flushed and slick with sweat. Drool was seeping out of his mouth and dripping onto his clothes. Bro felt a flash of alarm. Something was very wrong here. In a flash he was by Dave’s side, reaching out to gently shake him awake. “Dave…Dave, look at me baby. What’s the matter?” Bro asked, somewhat urgently, gently cupping the side of Dave’s face to turn him to look at him. Bro thumbed a strand of the drool away from his mouth, “Why are you drooling so much?”

“I dunno” Dave panted, his words slurred. His eyes were hazy and his skin was way too warm. Bro swore. “Shit. I knew I should have stayed up with you. Should’a listened to my intuition” he said, annoyed at himself. He reached for some tissues on the coffee table and started to wipe up Dave’s face and neck. Saliva had soaked a part of his cotton sleep shirt. 

Dave let out a pained groan and tried to curl in on himself, leaning forwards as though he had stomach cramps. 

“That hurting you?” Bro asked, a hint of worry in his voice. An idea hit him. 

“Hey, let me see your stomach, Lil Man. C’mon, move your hands away” Bro tossed the tissues aside and reached to pull Dave’s arms away from his stomach, despite slight resistance from Dave. Why hadn’t he thought to check earlier? As soon as he saw Dave’s belly, he knew there was something weird going on. It looked really full and bloated under his clothes and it emitted an angry sounding gurgle. Bro pushed Dave’s PJ top up out of the way and cupped his hands on the flesh, gently feeling around it. He could feel the movement and bubbling going on under the pale, sweaty skin. “Holy fuck, what is this? You only had some soup and crackers. Unless you stuffed yourself with anything else while I wasn’t looking” Bro said. 

Dave slowly shook his head and groaned lightly. Clear fluid dripped from the side of his mouth. 

“No?” Bro looked confused “Well, that’s weird. I’m gonna be keeping an eye on it. I think I need to call someone about this. Your stomach shouldn’t be this swollen” He said. He noticed Dave had drunk some of the glass of water. He hadn’t taken the pill yet. Bro ran to get his phone and Google after hours doctor’s clinics. He found one and called them, waiting on hold for a while before getting through. He started to tell the doctor about Dave’s behaviour and symptoms so far, telling him what medications he’d given him and his temperature and events of the evening. Bro paced the living room and went into the kitchen, still talking. 

While Bro was on the phone, Dave’s nausea mounted. He was feeling queasy enough that he was drooling from the need to vomit but something was preventing him from doing so. The anti emetic medicine Bro gave him earlier. But it seemed to have worn off enough now that the nausea was overpowering it. Dave dizzily leaned over and fumbled for Dame Edna. He pulled her into his lap and hugged her tight, groaning as nausea twisted his insides. A rush of heat and dizziness washed over him and suddenly, Dave puked, the liquid forcefully hitting the bottom of the bucket. Dave barely had time to take a breath before another surge of puke leaped out of his mouth. He coughed and gasped, then vomited again. Dave was a notoriously quiet puker but even so, this was noisy as it splashed into the bucket and up its sides. 

Bro heard the retching and quickly thanked the doctor before hanging up. He hurried to sit next to Dave and help out. “Hey, the doctor said he thinks you’ve got noro or something. The medicine I gave you stopped your stomach getting rid of what it needs to. But you started puking while he was telling me that and he said it’s a good sign and you should feel better soon” Bro said, rubbing Dave’s back gently. 

Dave moaned and paused, breathing heavily before throwing up some more. 

Bro felt awful. “I’m so fucking sorry. I shouldn’t have given you that medicine. This is my fault” he said. “Your stomach could have burst” 

Dave was shuddering, sweat trickling down his face as he panted, trying to catch his breath. He was fighting off gags, trying to stop the horrible surges of puke coming out. “B-Bro…” he gasped, “Guurhh!” a thin stream of vomit slopped out of his mouth and Dave swallowed. 

“Don’t hold it in!” Bro said, alarmed. “Stop fighting it. You need to get this shit out of your system. Let it up, let it- that’s it” he said, as Dave was overcome by the urge and a thick spout of vomit rushed out, splattering into the bucket. Bro thought Dave would be finished soon but as they both sat there and went through the experience together, he realised Dave wasn’t stopping. Puke, gasp for breath, puke, suck in air, puke again, wow that was a big one…coughing, gasping, another big puke…

He watched Dave puke…way more than he should be. The bucket was actually filling up. Bro kept rubbing Dave’s back up and down in soothing motions. He reached to brush his hair back from his eyes, holding his head up at the same time. He was scared but he didn’t show it, he didn’t want Dave to freak out. 

“Bro – uuugh – I – huurgh-!” Dave tried to speak between heaves, and his words sounded panicked. 

Bro shushed him “Shhhh, it’s okay. Just let your body do what it needs to. Don’t panic. I’m here okay. Shhh” he rubbed between Dave’s shoulder blades as tears streamed from Dave’s eyes. 

The tears were partly involuntary from the pain but as he started to panic, he started crying more from fear, discomfort and humiliation. He could feel Bro’s hand on his back and his comforting words helped. Dave started to calm down again but he wasn’t able to completely stop the tears. And he really absolutely couldn’t stop the vomiting. The hard splatter of puke onto plastic and the drumming as it hit the bottom of the bucket had been replaced by the sploshing sounds of liquid falling into more liquid. Dave’s entire body felt like it was being squeezed hard repeatedly, his insides spasming over and over. He was covered in sweat and was hot and feverish but he felt his crotch and legs get hotter with some kind of liquid. He hoped the bucket wasn’t leaking. His awareness was hazy. 

When the last thick gush of vomit left Dave’s lips, trailing off into little hiccups and burps accompanied with dribbles of liquid, the bucket was full. Bro waited, as Dave sat panting, his nose and mouth dripping strands of saliva and fluids, his eyes watering. Dave made a small struggling sound; a quiet gag, but nothing else came up. A moment later, he gagged again, and Bro could see his stomach contracting. “Okay, okay, I think you’re finished. Just lie back for me sweetie” Bro started to push Dave’s head back and Dave followed the prompting, sitting up slowly and leaning hard against the back of the couch. He was leaning slightly to one side, and clearly dizzy and exhausted. Bro carefully took the bucket out of Dave’s grasp, moving his arms back and letting his hands lie beside his thighs. 

Bro was shaking as he looked at the bucket. Granted it wasn’t the biggest bucket in the world but it was fucking full. This should not be able to happen. Bro heard noro was bad, but not like this. He set the bucket aside on the ground and grabbed the box of tissues. “Just try to sleep, Lil Man. It’s all over” he soothed, starting to wipe up Dave’s face. He noticed a dark patch on Dave’s cotton pants. It was pretty large actually. Bro reached out to feel the wet fabric. “Oh” he wet himself. Bro cursed. Dave never just wet himself. It only ever happened when his fever was too high. But in this case it was probably from all the squeezing on his insides. Bro was going to have to clean the futon. 

Dave didn’t stir. He was feverish and barely awake at this point. His eyebrows were drawn up in pain. Bro finished cleaning him up with tissues, going through most of the box and gently yet thoroughly cleaning his face, neck and hands. 

“Hold on, I’ll be right back” Bro told him, cupping the side of his face and stroking it. Dave’s head turned in the direction of the cool hand, leaning into Bro’s touch. Bro leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “I’ll come back and clean you up okay. Just stay here. Catch your breath” 

Bro set about taking the full bucket and going to empty it down the toilet. He had to flush it several times to get everything to go down. He rinsed Dame Edna out in the shower and quickly brought it back to the living room with him, sitting it next to the couch. Bro leaned over and scooped Dave into his arms. He’d have to get him clean before he could put him to bed. As he was carrying Dave down the hall, the teen’s eyes opened slightly “Bro…” 

“Shhh, it’s okay…I got you” Bro said comfortingly. “Just cleaning you up” 

“Uuuuh” Dave’s eyelids fluttered. “M’sorry” 

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault. Just rest” Bro said. He took Dave into the bathroom and sat him on the floor with his back against the wall. Bro flash stepped to Dave’s room and back, appearing with some of Dave’s clothes that he liked to wear to sleep in; his heart top and boxers with some red sweatpants. Bro wondered what the best way to clean him was. Probably a bath. He walked to the tub and put the plug in then started a warm bath, making sure it wasn’t too hot or cold. He then went and knelt down by Dave and started to take his shirt off. Dave tried to help but he was weak, shaky and clumsy. He was also confused. “Shhh, it’s okay. I’m just gonna get you cleaned up” Bro told him “Can’t get in the bath with your clothes on” 

Bro tossed the shirt in a corner then helped pull down Dave’s pants and underwear and tossed those with the shirt. He picked the feverish teen up and placed him in the tub, letting him lean facing forwards and resting on the side of it. Bro started to wash Dave as the water sploshed into the bath, using a face washer and some body soap. He was covered in sweat and other body fluids so Bro just wanted to make sure he got clean. 

Dave seemed to doze on his folded arms on the side of the tub, completely zonked. Once Dave was clean, Bro pulled the plug and set the face washer on the rim, going to get a large towel and wrap Dave in it. He helped dry him off and get dressed again, pulling the underwear and red sweatpants up his legs and into place before pulling the tee over his head and helping thread his arms through the sleeves. It brought back memories of when Dave was younger and Bro used to have to help him with things. Bro picked Dave up and he cuddled into him with a shiver, grasping a handful of Bro’s shirt. Shit, his fever must have gone up again. Bro hurriedly took Dave to his room and placed him down gently into his bed. He pulled the sheet up over him, and pulled the blanket up to waist height, not wanting him to overheat. 

Dave sleepily rolled over onto his side, curling his knees up a bit. Bro wanted to give him something for the fever but he didn’t want to give it to him on an empty stomach, and he was worried Dave might choke on a pill. Bro brought Dame Edna into the room and put it beside Dave’s bed, tucked Dave in again, pulling the sheet back up, and then went in search of some liquid painkillers. He found some in the bathroom cabinet from the last time they’d both had colds. Good enough. Bro read the directions on the bottle which said it reduces both pain and fever. He walked back into Dave’s room. Bro gently shook his kid’s shoulder “Dave…Dave…can you wake up for a minute?” 

Dave stirred and his eyes blinked open. His hair was starting to stick to his forehead again already. Bro needed to get the fever down as soon as possible. Bro poured out some medicine onto the plastic spoon and held it in front of Dave. “It’s medicine. I need you to drink this” 

“No” Dave closed his eyes, turning away from the spoon. Bro tried not to smile. “I promise, it’s not more of that purple stuff. Look, it’s red. This is just for the fever” he cajoled him, watching Dave’s eyes open and look at the spoon. Dave rolled over slightly and opened his mouth a little. Bro took the opportunity and put the spoonful of red goop in his mouth. Dave sucked it off the spoon, swallowing it down. He licked his lips and tasted the medicine a few times. His eyes started to close on their own and Bro reached out to help him roll back onto his side “Good boy. Roll back over, go to sleep. I’ll be watching over you so you won’t be alone” 

Dave’s hand reached out and weakly grabbed Bro’s arm. Dave pulled on it. He didn’t need to speak. Bro would stay. Bro put the medicine on the bedside table and crawled onto the bed. He lay down behind Dave and put an arm around him in a light embrace. Dave grabbed his arm like it was a stuffed toy and hugged onto him. Bro didn’t mind. He wanted Dave to feel safe and protected. 

Bro let Dave sleep for a good couple of hours, allowing himself to fall into a light doze. He checked the time on his phone, which he’d slipped back into his pants pocket. Dave had been out three hours. It was nearly 6am. Bro decided to get up and get some water or juice for Dave. After how much fluids had left his body earlier, he figured it was best to put some back in. Bro carefully and quietly extricated his arm from Dave’s grasp and crawled off the bed. 

Dave awoke to a feeling of loss and emptiness, along with a feeling of nausea and fullness. His stomach bubbled in an unpleasant way and he groaned softly. Not again. Where was Bro? They’d been asleep together and, oh, there he is. 

Bro walked into the room holding a plastic cup full of apple juice with a straw. He had a small bowl of pureed apple in the other. He knew Dave wouldn’t eat much when he was sick so he made sure to get things he liked. He sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to feel Dave’s forehead, brushing his hair back from his eyes “How are you feeling, Lil Man?” 

Dave let out a soft sigh, enjoying the cool hand on his skin “Still yucky. I think I’m gonna puke again Bro” 

Bro looked surprised and concerned as he removed his hand. “What? How? The antiemetic stuff wore off ages ago and you already got everything that was backed up out of your system” 

“I know. I just…I don’t feel so good” Dave said, groaning a little bit after he spoke. 

“Maybe it’s because you’re dehydrated. That can make you feel pretty shit. Here, brought you some AJ. Think you can sit up enough to drink it?” 

“Mmm” Dave hummed, shutting his eyes and rubbing them. He blinked blearily and tried to sit up “Ow!” Dave hissed. His stomach felt like someone used it as a punching bag. Bro reached out and helped him sit up, one arm behind him to support his back. He handed Dave the plastic cup. Dave put the straw in his mouth and took a small sip. “Thanks Bro” he mumbled from around the straw. 

Bro was wearing a concerned frown “Your fever’s still there. You’re way too warm but it looks like the medicine helped” he said.

“What medicine?” Dave looked confused. He didn’t remember taking anything. 

“You were still very out of it when I gave it to you. This stuff” he picked up the bottle from the bedside table and showed it to Dave. “I didn’t want you to choke on a pill” 

“I have no memory of even drinking that” Dave muttered, “Oh well” he continued to suck down apple juice while he leaned against Bro and his pillows. The liquid was usually his favourite but today it tasted too sweet, almost sickly and he felt so full already that it was hard to drink all of it. Dave let go of the straw to take a breather for a second. 

“It’s okay. Just drink as much as you can. Little sips, baby steps. Don’t try to force things” Bro said. 

Dave felt dizzy leaning against Bro. The world spun even when he closed his eyes. “Bro, can I lie back down?” 

“Sure honey. Hold on” Bro took the cup of apple juice and set it aside “You don’t feel up to eating something?” 

“Uh-uh” Dave said as Bro helped him lay back down and get comfy. “Jus wanna rest” 

Bro tried to hide how worried he was. Dave should be getting better by now, shouldn’t he? These things could last a week or so but he’d never heard of anyone puking as much as Dave had last night. 24 hours of that would kill a person. “Maybe you’ll feel better after some more sleep. Do you want anything?” 

“My DS” Dave mumbled, lying on his side, curled up. “And my phone” 

Bro grabbed the phone off Dave’s desk and followed Dave’s pointing finger to his backpack, kneeling down to get the DS out of it. He brought them over to Dave and put them on the bed in front of him. “Here ya go. Oh, and Dave, I’m calling in to take the day off work today. I don’t feel right leaving you on your own yet. So I’ll be here if you need me”

“Thanks” Dave yawned. He cuddled his electronics close to his chest “I’m so tired” 

“Yeah, you were up most of the night. Get some sleep” 

“Bro” 

“Yeah?” 

“Can you get the crows out of my room?” 

Bro looked around. There were no crows. “Uh, what?” 

“They’re flying around. Must a left the window open” 

Bro’s hand was instantly back on Dave’s forehead. He was overly warm. “Shit” 

“Just get em out of here” Dave mumbled. 

“Okay baby, I will. You go back to sleep” Bro said reassuringly. “You’re still sick” He was sicker than Bro thought. 

Bro decided to go clean up the house while Dave was out, namely the futon which had a stain on it and now smelled like pee. Bro got it clean though. He made himself some breakfast as well while he was up and rang his boss to let them know he wasn’t coming in today. Bro ate his French toast and sliced fruit (strawberries, nectarines), with a frown, stabbing the fruit around with his fork. He was thinking back over the events of last night. Dave said some kid got sick on the school bus. Maybe that’s how he caught it, those things could travel airborne couldn’t they? Come to think of it; he’d thrown up a lot in the kitchen too before Bro gave him the medicine. Bro was thinking he’d ring another doctor for a second opinion. He put his dishes in the sink and rinsed them, wiped down the table, dug out his phone, then paused. He thought he heard Dave calling for him 

“Bro!” 

Yep, that was Dave. Bro hurried to Dave’s room and found him lying in bed clutching his stomach 

“It hurtsss!” 

Bro ran to the side of the bed and pulled the sheet and blanket down. Damn it, this better not be appendicitis or – “What the?” Bro stared for a moment or two before a whimper from Dave drove him back into action. 

“Uugh, Bro. I’m gonna hurl” 

“Oh, shit. Okay, hang on” Bro said urgently. He grabbed Dame Edna, sat on the side of the bed, helped Dave sit up and put the bucket on his lap. 

Dave hovered over it, drool dripping from his lips. He was panting again, and shaking pretty badly. Bro put a hand to his forehead and felt how hot and sweaty it was. “How’d your fever go up that much?!” he gasped. It had only been a half hour. 

“Gg-gehh!” Dave jerked forwards with a hard gag and Bro started rubbing his back “Okay, okay, just breathe. It’s coming” 

Dave made another gagging sound and a little trickle of vomit spilled from his lips. Bro kept rubbing his back “Are you fighting it?” 

“Bluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurgh!” There was the sound of liquid sloshing out at a fast rate and splattering into the bucket. 

“Guess not” Bro said, “How in the fuck is your stomach this full? All you had was some apple juice” 

Dave jerked in his arms, another stream of puke forcefully smacking down. Dave’s pained noises at the end of it told Bro that this was hurting him. All Bro could do was hold him and soothe him until it was over. Which he did “Shhh, okay. It’s okay. That’s it…better out than in. You’re all right…” 

Dave kept puking, the same as before. Bro released his forehead for a moment to check his stomach. He felt it and it was bloated and full, gurgling under his hand like a geyser ready to blow. Which it was currently doing. 

“Huuuuuuuurbghrl!” Dave gurgled at the end of that heave. There was a loud, juicy splatter and sploshing of liquid hitting liquid. 

“Shhh, easy, just try to relax, let it flow out. It’ll come up easier. There you go, lean on me, that’s it” Dave vomited forcefully, thick slimy puke that was surprisingly orange brown in colour. It looked chunky with lumps of unidentified things. Bro had no idea what that was. There’s no way it could be left over stir fry. That had been well and truly exorcised during last night’s session. Dave heaved again and Bro watched the bucket get fuller. It was coming up to the halfway line. “You’re going to fill this whole thing aren’t you?” he asked in a sort of dreaded fascination, rubbing Dave’s back soothingly. He didn’t expect him to reply. It was a bit hard to talk with vomit taking up all the room in your mouth.   
Bro could feel how much Dave was shaking, and come to think of it, he could feel the heat emanating through his clothes. His t-shirt was damp with sweat under the arms and on the back and front. When Dave’s body finished getting rid of whatever the hell this stuff was, Bro swore he’d get more medicine into him to try and bring his fever back down some. 

A stream of hot acidic stuff with the texture of chowder rushed out of Dave’s throat, through his mouth and down into the bucket. Dave couldn’t really focus on anything. All he knew was that he had the overwhelming urge to puke and puke and puke. His insides seized up, over and over, forcing more stuff out of him. He was dimly aware of Bro’s hand on his back, pressing up and down, and of the hand holding his forehead. He could hear snatches of words and a soothing voice but he couldn’t make out more than bits of what was said. 

“B-Bro-!” he gasped, “Guurhh!” Dave’s body squeezed hard, almost winding him as a torrent of vomit poured out. It tumbled into a thick substance in a bucket under his chin. Dave gasped in a breath when it was over. He stayed there, his head feeling heavy and swirly. Words floated into his ears. 

“Dave…Dave…c’mon baby, look at me” Bro was talking. Dave felt hands go under his chin and gently turn his face towards Bro. Something wiped his mouth and face. “There we go. You all done? The bucket’s full, I gotta go clean it out” 

“Uuurrhh” Dave said, something wet dribbled from his mouth. He felt the cloth wipe his face again. “Are you finished? Hang on. I’ll be back. I just gotta empty this” Bro said. He then grasped Dave’s shoulders and gently eased him back against the pillows. “Lie down honey. Try to take some deep slow breaths. Bro will be back” a hand stroked his cheek. 

Bro disappeared. He’d flash stepped to the bathroom. He walked over to the toilet and put the bucket down, opening the lid. Then Bro heard gagging from down the hall “Fuck. Shit!” Bro cast about for the nearest bucket and grabbed the one they kept in the bathroom for cleaning stuff; a blue one with stripes on it. He flashed back to Dave just in time for the sick teen to splurt vomit from between the fingers pressed over his mouth and splatter Bro and the bed with it. Bro pulled Dave’s hand from his mouth and shoved the bowl on his lap just in time for the next heave, a wave of vomit surging out of the kid’s mouth. Most of it landed in the bowl, some splattered onto the bedsheets. Bro reached his hand out and started to rub Dave’s back again “Didn’t realise you weren’t finished. Your stomach was fuller than last time” he said, concern and worry on his features. “Gods this is horrible. What the fuck is it?” 

It was the first time in years that Dave had been so sick Bro wasn’t able to get a bucket to him in time. He was going to have to change his clothes, the sheets, Dave’s clothes. He could feel the vomit on his shirt and the leg of his pants, slimy and warm and seeping in. Bro shuddered lightly. Never had he seen so much vomit in his entire life. He was silently panicking inside, worried to death for his kid. This was bizarre and unnatural. Bro definitely needed to ring the hospital or something. He stayed with Dave until it was over. The blue stripy bowl ended up being full to the brim as well and Bro waited to make extra sure that no more surprise vomit was going to leap out. Dave’s small body spasmed as he gagged, but the only thing that came up was sounds. He was empty. Bro took the bowl and set it aside on the bedside table. He pulled Dave into his arms, rubbing his back as he cuddled him close “Shhhhhh. Deep breaths, nice and slow. Take nice slow breaths for me…that’s it, breathe honey…and another one, breathe in…yeah, now out…good” 

Dave was crying, Bro didn’t mind, he let him cry into his white t-shirt as he held him. Bro was worried enough that he didn’t want to leave him for even a minute. He pulled his phone from his back pocket and dialled emergency, his other arm wrapped firmly around his child. He soon got put through to an operator and they transferred him to a nurse at the emergency department. 

“Am I speaking with Dirk Strider? How can I help? The operator said your son has a case of severe vomiting and a high fever. Can you describe any of his other symptoms?” 

“His fever’s so high he’s delirious and he thinks there are crows in his room. Plus he just filled two buckets to full capacity with vomit, I’m not even kidding. It’s insane amounts of vomit. I don’t even know how it’s possible. I’m trying to help him but the meds I gave him earlier nearly ended with a ruptured stomach and the meds to keep his temp down keep wearing off quicker than they should. He’s really, really hot. I haven’t taken his temp but the last time I took it it was 38.9 C and this feels higher than that. Do you have any fucking idea what’s going on, because I’m scared out of my mind?”

The nurse made sympathetic noises and comments to show she was listening. When Bro finished speaking, he could hear her turning pages, checking information probably. She spoke up “Okay, Dirk, so, this sounds very similar to the Warmblood Virus that’s been affecting warm blooded trolls. There are a few very rare cases which have been reported where it’s seemingly mutated to affect some humans. Has your son been around anyone at school or in public who’s had similar symptoms?” 

“Yeah. Yeah, he told me that some troll kid on his bus threw up. That must have been it. God. Why Dave? Why’d it have to affect him?” Bro paused to wedge his phone between his ear and neck as he grabbed some of his shirt and wiped Dave’s tears away with it. “He’s such a good kid. He doesn’t fucking deserve this” 

“We don’t yet know what causes it to affect some humans, unfortunately. It is being looked into but we don’t have a lot of information right now. All we know is it’s a mutated virus that seemed to form from the combination of norovirus and some alien virus from the troll’s local fauna and flora. But you’re right; no one deserves to get this. The most important thing you can do for him is try to keep him comfortable and get plenty of fluids into him. Keep giving the fever reducers, I’ll tell you which ones to use” she listed off some different medications that were made to reduce pain and fever and told him how often he could give them to Dave. She also explained to try and keep him cool with damp cloths, ice blocks, iced Pedialyte or hydrolyte, ice cubes, loose clothing, air conditioning, fans on dampened skin and so on. 

“To help his energy levels, try feeding easy to digest things like broth, crackers, apple, banana, dry toast, oatmeal…but only once the vomiting session has finished and his stomach is empty. It’s better to have something inside. Even though the virus builds up quickly in the system, the body doesn’t get any nutrition from it. Be very, very sparing with anti-emetics and don’t use them at all if possible. It’s better to have them administered in carefully monitored amounts at the hospital. And if you can’t get him to stay hydrated or his fever gets to be dangerously high and won’t go back down, please bring him in. You can call an ambulance if need be. We’re pretty full with patients that have come down with this virus but we’ll be able to fit him in” she said. “Also, it would be a good idea to monitor how much virus is being expelled each time. It seems to build up much faster in much larger amounts in humans than it does in trolls” 

“Oh, great!” Bro said sarcastically. He thanked the nurse for her information and hung up, trying to remember everything she just told him. Bro stuffed his phone in his back pocket again and turned his attention to Dave. The kid was leaning pressed against Bro’s shirt, his face flushed and sweaty. His breathing was heavy and panting and he looked extremely pale where the blotches of fever weren’t showing. His body was shaking with tremors. Bro pressed the back of his hand to Dave’s cheek and felt the heat radiating from his body. “Okay honey. I’m gonna do everything I can to make you comfortable and help you get through this. I don’t want to send you to the hospital without at least trying what the nurse said, sounds like they’re pretty busy. So you just stick with me and do what I say, okay?” 

“Nnnnn” Dave moaned, curling up a bit tighter as he clutched Bro like he had when he was little. He felt a cool hand reach out and stroke his hair back from his sweaty forehead. He could see falling shapes behind his eyelids and when he opened his eyes; spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds. It looked like they were raining from the ceiling; a confetti of card suites just silently raining down. 

“You’re gonna be okay. We can get through this” Bro promised. He picked Dave up in his arms as he rose from the bed and carried him down the hall, out into the living room and through to the kitchen. Bro shifted Dave to his hip, carrying him like he had as a child. He rummaged in the kitchen cupboard above the stove and brought out another bottle of liquid medicine. Bro walked over to the counter and sat Dave in front of him atop it, his legs wrapped round Bro loosely. He opened the bottle and poured some pink sparkly stuff into the plastic spoon that came attached to the side of the bottle. Bro brought the spoon to his lips “Come on now, let’s get your fever down. Swallow this for me, honey. Ahhh” Bro opened his mouth with the classic sound. 

Dave turned his head away with a groan, reaching his hand up to push the spoon away from him. He felt sore and sick. Putting something into his mouth was the last thing he wanted to do. 

Bro waited a moment then tried again, with much the same result. Dave turning his head away and smearing pink goop on his lips and cheek. Bro sighed. “You’re really not helping yourself here, Dave. Take the fucking medicine” Bro mumbled, though his voice had no anger at all. He sounded calm, patient. He tried a few more times. 

“Come on. Open your mouth….” Bro grabbed Dave’s chin and squeezed the sides of his jaw, gently forcing it open more. Dave was already panting but he needed it open enough to get the spoon in without pink goop going everywhere. Bro slid the spoon into Dave’s mouth and once the sick boy got a taste of strawberry sweetness, he started sucking on the spoon, swallowing the medicine. “Yeah, that’s it. Good boy” Bro removed the spoon after a moment when he was sure it was all gone, setting it on the counter. He picked Dave up again and grabbed some paper towels off the roll to wipe drool and pinkness off his face. “Okay, that should get your fever and stomach ache taken care of. Now we need to put fluids and energy back in” Bro muttered, carrying Dave around while he talked to himself. Dave’s arms were wrapped around his neck, his legs around Bro’s waist. He was pretty light and small as a teen so he weighed near nothing to Bro. 

Bro opened the small freezer above the fridge with the arm that wasn’t supporting Dave’s legs and butt. He found some ice cubes. He pulled the tray out and then set it on the counter. Bro searched in the fridge for something and found what he was looking for; a bottle of Gatorade, coloured neon yellow, with a lemon-lime flavour. He sat Dave on the bench again, keeping him directly in front of him, leaning against his Bro, while he cracked the cap off the top of the Gatorade and drank some, gulping it down. Heck, Bro was thirsty. And he hadn’t showered since he got home from work yesterday. 

Bro dropped some ice cubes into the bottle then held it to Dave’s lips “Here, drink. Come on kid…just a little” Some of the liquid dribbled onto Dave’s lips and into his slightly open mouth. Dave gave a small swallow as it travelled down his tongue. Then he opened his mouth wider, trying to drink more of the liquid. Bro tilted the bottle up a bit so he could get enough from it, but not too much. Even so, some dribbled out the sides of his mouth and onto his already vomit smeared shirt as well as Bro’s. Bro didn’t mind. He had to wash their shirts already anyway. Once Dave pulled back to take a breather, Bro sat the opened bottle on the counter and picked up Dave again. “Right. Clean up time. Then I’ll get you settled on the couch and we can watch a movie together and eat something” he decided. 

Dave buried his face into Bro’s neck, which let him feel just how hot, shaky and sweaty he was. “Bro…” 

“Shh, it’s okay” he patted Dave’s back, taking him down the hall to the bathroom. 

“There’s things…falling from the ceiling” Dave mumbled, sounding scared and confused. “Shapes” 

“Oh yeah? What kind of shapes?” Bro set Dave on the floor with his back against the wall and went to get a washcloth and wet it with warm water. He went back over to Dave and knelt before him, wiping his face and arms, then setting it aside and reached out to grasp the hem of Dave’s pink heart shirt. He pulled it up and over his head gently, though Dave struggled a bit when he was unable to see. Bro placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, calming him down. “Hey…what kind of shapes are you seeing?” he asked again, redirecting his attention. 

“Heart, spade…” Dave stopped talking and looked past Bro, his eyes following the movements of things Bro couldn’t see. He looked confused for a moment or two “Clubs…diamonds” He swayed slightly. 

“Ahh~ That’s the pattern on your sheets, huh?” Bro said knowingly, helping Dave get out of his pants so he was just in his boxers. “Delirium is weird like that. Kay, lie back for me…” Bro gently pushed Dave’s head and shoulders back so he was leaning against the wall and wouldn’t tip sideways. “Stay right here. Don’t move. Gotta get clothes for us” he said. He flash stepped out of the room, disappearing in a blur of motion. 

Dave watched the shapes falling everywhere. They were kind of peaceful. Almost like snow. They faded once they reached the floor. He put a hand out palm up and tried to catch one. A red heart landed in his palm.

Bro soon reappeared and knelt in front of him again. He wiped Dave’s skin with the cloth from earlier, where the vomit had seeped through the cotton clothing. He then pulled a new t-shirt onto him but that was all, not wanting him to overheat. Bro then undressed himself, rinsing the cloth out and wiping himself down where the puke had soaked onto his skin. He threw on a pair of jeans and a new tee. He then picked up all the dirty laundry and dumped it on the pile that was already on the floor from earlier. He’d do the laundry later. Then he went back to Dave and scooped him into his arms, standing up “All right, the futon should be dry by now so let’s go out there” he told him. 

Dave whined and turned to snuggle into Bro, grabbing a handful of his t-shirt.

Bro took him into the living room and helped him lie down against the cushions of the futon. He grabbed the light blanket from the back of the couch and put it over his legs. He gave Dave the TV remote. “Watch TV for a minute. I’ll be right back” 

Bro, true to his word, vanished and came back a few minutes later with a bowl of apple puree and the Gatorade in a clear drink bottle that had a top with a pop-top lid on it. He sat on the edge of the futon near Dave’s waist and placed the bowl of apple in his lap. “Think you can eat some of this? It’s apple, your favourite” 

“Mm?” Dave looked down at the bowl then plunged his hand into it, eyes widening as he felt its texture.

Bro facepalmed. “No. Dave. Who the fuck taught you how to eat? Oh yeah, I guess that was me” Bro sighed and grabbed the spoon out of the bowl, removing Dave’s hand from it.

Dave brought the hand to his mouth and started eating the apple sauce off it, getting some on his face. Bro let him suck and lick most of the sauce off before he wiped Dave’s hand with the blanket on his knees and brought a spoonful of apple to his mouth “Here, like this. Say ahh” 

Bro spooned the food into Dave’s mouth. Dave chewed slightly and swallowed it. “Tastes weird” he wrinkled his nose at the flavour. 

“You were just eating it off your hand a minute ago” Bro replied. “Now, eat” he fed Dave another spoonful, patient and careful. Gods he hadn’t had to spoon feed Dave since he was a toddler. This was bringing back so many memories. He tried handing Dave the spoon “You think you can do it yourself now? I want you to eat as much as you can” Bro explained. 

Dave dug the spoon into the bowl with the awkwardness of no motor control and brought it to his face, where he did a great job of missing his mouth and smearing it across his cheek. Should delirious people be allowed to feed themselves? Bro decided the answer was no. He gently took the spoon back and wiped the sauce off Dave’s cheek “Good try. But I think I better do it after all. Open up”. He slowly fed Dave the rest of the apple sauce and was happy when he managed to get him to eat it all. Bro took the bowl to the kitchen to dump in the sink and came back with a cloth to wipe Dave’s hands and face. He picked the Gatorade bottle off the coffee table and handed it to the sick teen. Bro lay down on the futon and pulled Dave into his lap, getting them both settled and comfy. “Drink as much of that as you can, okay? It’s really important that you do so. I’m gonna find us a movie to watch” Bro took the remote from beside Dave and started to check through Netflix to pick something out. 

Dave grabbed the drink bottle and put it in his mouth and sucked on it. He looked confused, taking it back out of his mouth “Bro, it’s not working” he slurred slowly. 

Bro pulled the cap up “Try now” 

Dave plopped it back into his mouth and sucked, this time getting nice cold lemon lime sweetness. He made a contented noise and slowly sucked down the drink, his eyes drifting to the TV as it played music and displayed the beginnings of a movie. The cold Gatorade was really soothing on his sore throat. 

Bro could feel Dave’s body heat with him lying against him like this. Damn, he was so warm. He reached up to feel his forehead again and noted that it seemed to be going down a bit. Good. So it bloody well should. 

Bro wasn’t surprised when halfway through the movie, Dave was asleep. Hotel Transylvania 2 was funny but it was more important that Dave got some rest. He wasn’t really sure how much of it Dave was understanding anyway. Bro watched the rest of the movie then turned down the sound on the TV when it finished and switched to episodes of Big Bang Theory. He checked Dave’s temperature again and noted he was less warm than before. Bro sighed. How did he let this happen? Dave had never been this sick before in his life. Bro decided to try and get up to go get the thermometer, but Dave started to stir and let out a groan, his arm going to his stomach. It must have still been very tender after all it had been through. Bro decided to stay put. Dave rolled onto his side atop of Bro and while that wasn’t really comfortable for Bro, Bro shifted around a bit till Dave was lying more comfortable. 

Bro rubbed Dave’s side and thigh gently. “Stay asleep” he whispered. He didn’t want him to feel the pain and discomfort of his illness. Bro let his own eyes slide closed as he leaned back against the cushions. This couch was so comfy. Probably because it was a futon. It was as comfy as a bed. Bro pulled the light blanket over Dave up to his upper waist and let himself drift off. He wasn’t that comfortable but he was tired and that was enough to knock him out. 

The Striders slept on the futon for a good 4 hours. As exhausted as they were. 

Bro woke with a start at something hot and sour washing over him. “Dave!” he gasped. The teen was still lying curled up on top of Bro, but he was puking in his sleep. Dave coughed and gasped too, his red eyes snapped open, startling awake at the horrible act of his insides leaping out his mouth without permission. Bro felt his body jerk as another surge left Dave’s mouth, spilling all over Bro. 

“Shit, shit” Bro swore, trying to sit up a bit. He pulled Dave onto his lap as he sat with him and Dave added another stream of fresh vomit to Bro’s chest and t shirt, as well as his lap. Bro noticed it was now a sickly tan yellow colour. 

Dave puked again and he knew it was too much, too soon. He knew something was wrong. He just puked in his Bro’s lap and on the couch and omg he was fighting not to do it again. Dave tried to hold himself up, but his arms were shaking badly. He felt feverish and hot and scared out of his mind “Bro...help me!” Dave sounded panicked and completely losing his shit. Bro held him up and his voice reached Dave’s ears. “I know, I know. I’m gonna help you. It’s all right. Just let it out, I got ya. I’m helping you okay. You got nothing to worry about. Let it out, honey”

Dave broke out in sobs as he felt his insides twist and heave. An unstoppable train of vomit rushed out of his mouth and all over Bro and the futon. Dave coughed and gurgled, swaying backwards and nearly choking as some vomit bubbled up and went backwards. Dave was abruptly shoved forwards and it spilled out of his mouth, splattering onto Bro’s legs. He felt strong arms holding him up so he didn’t fall into his mess. Dave’s body jerked forwards against Bro’s arms as another thick stream surged out of him and splashed down. 

“I can’t stop it! I can’t-” Dave threw up again, his insides squeezing hard. “Guuuuuuuuuurkhh!” 

“I know baby. Shhhh, don’t try to stop it. Don’t hold it back. We need the sickness to come out of you okay. Try to relax, lean into me. That’s it, good boy. I got you” Dave was pulled close to Bro, his head lying against his chest on a clean bit of tshirt covering Bro’s pecs. He continued to vomit but Bro didn’t seem to mind. He just rubbed Dave’s back and held him up, speaking reassurance and comfort. Dave’s gags, burps and struggling sounds continued for long minutes as his swollen angry stomach emptied itself. Tears mingled with the mess running from his nose and mouth. Dave could hardly catch his breath in between heaves. He felt something hot streaming down his legs but he wasn’t sure if it was sweat, puke or pee. 

It was definitely pee. Bro felt it too and just shushed him some more, holding him and trying to calm him and soothe him as much as possible. Trying to move Dave would only spread this mess throughout the house. When it was finally over and Dave’s body was wracked with painful dry heaves, Bro soothingly rubbed his back and reminded him how to breathe “Take a deep breath in for me….that’s it…and breathe out. Nice and slow. Now another one…breathe in…good, good….and out…” Bro said, talking Dave through it. His dry heaves gradually subsided and Bro sighed, stroking his hair back from his forehead as he ran a comforting hand through his hair, petting him. “I think it’s over for now, sweetheart” Bro said, hugging Dave close to him. He wiped his tears with the back of his hand. “Your fever’s back again. Shoot. Well, first things first. Let’s get cleaned up” Bro said calmly. He swung his legs over the side of the futon and carefully stood, carrying Dave princess style. Bro’s jeans dripped various fluids and he cringed as he tried not to drip it all over the floor. 

He took Dave to the bathroom and got in the tub with him. No fucks given this time. Bro sat down and stripped Dave’s tee and boxers off, throwing them on the laundry pile before getting out of his own clothes. He turned on the water and grabbed the container they used to rinse their hair. Bro filled it with warm water and poured it over Dave and himself. He did this several more times until all of the vomit was washed away. But he could still feel it’s slimy residue and so he put the plug in and let the bath fill up. Bro grabbed the washcloth from earlier, put some liquid soap on it and started to wash Dave off first. Sure he was too old to bathe with his parent but he was also too fucking sick and a total mess. 

Once they were both clean, Bro grabbed a towel from the rack next to the tub. He pulled the plug and as the water drained he wrapped the towel round Dave and started to dry him off. He grabbed another one for himself, quickly wiping off water and tying it round his waist. Bro picked Dave up again and carried him back to Dave’s bedroom. The smell of vomit greeted his nose. It was something he was getting very used to over the course of this illness. He hadn’t washed the sheets yet, of course, since he was tired and fell asleep with Dave on the couch. Bro mentally kicked himself for his stupidity. 

Bro set Dave down on the floor, leaning against the wall. He hurriedly dug out some clothes and dressed his sick child. He then picked him up again and brought him down the hall to Bro’s room. Bro lay Dave down on the bed, turning him on his side. He flash stepped to get some towels and laid them out either side of Dave, to make clean up easier and faster when he puked again. Because it wasn’t a matter of if. It was when. Dave’s body would refill with whatever the heck the foul lumpy slime was and then desperately need to get rid of it. And next time, Bro would be ready. 

Bro pulled his sheet up over Dave, just to his waist. He knew his temperature was skyrocketing. Dave was only half conscious, not moving much. Bro checked his pulse in his wrist and then the artery in his neck. It was fast and weak. “Shit” Bro turned the air conditioner in his room on and tried to get the room cool. He got cool cloths and wiped Dave’s skin so it was damp and the air blowing on it would cool him. Bro placed a wet cloth on the back of Dave’s neck and on his forehead. He got the medicine from the kitchen and tried to wake Dave up. 

Dave opened his eyes but they were glassy and had a distant look in them. Bro gently coaxed him into eating some medicine and the teen swallowed the contents of the spoon listlessly, like he was in a dream. Bro handed him another drink bottle, this time filled just with cold water. Dave hugged it like a soft toy and started to pass out again. Bro sat on his bed and watched over him like a hawk, testing his pulse and temperature every few minutes, and finally being relieved when his temperature started to drop down again. He got up to run around the place cleaning, stripped the bed, and the futon and chucked a few loads of washing on. Bro needed to clean the futon mattress and the carpet, but Dave’s bed seemed to have avoided getting puke soaked into the mattress so he just remade it with fresh bedding and new pillowslips. He paused in his cleaning every now and again to go check Dave and test his temperature, talk soothingly to him and touch him with gentle, concerned hands, or kiss his forehead. In between hanging out laundry and spraying Febreeze around the house. 

Bro had been paying attention to the patterns of this virus by now, so he knew to wake Dave up after two hours and try to get more water down him. He reached to push up Dave’s tshirt and gently feel his stomach “Yeah, you’re filling up again” Bro sighed, “It’s okay. Stay calm. Stay nice and calm for me…shhhh” Dave was whimpering and shaking against Bro and he hugged him close and rubbed his back. “I think you have a couple more hours before anything wants to happen. So why don’t we try some dry toast, okay? You can just nibble it” he stroked Dave’s hair back, cooing soft words to him. 

Dave whined and hiccupped softly, clinging onto him. Bro gently wiped away the small tears that leaked from his eyes, rubbing his back some more. “Shhhh, shhhhh” he soothed, “It’s okay. You’re gonna be okay. I know you’re scared. But I’m here for you and I’m gonna do everything I can to make you comfortable and help you ride this thing out. You’re not dehydrated yet, and the medicine I gave you just a second ago is a painkiller and fever reducer. The nurse said there’s no way to stop the vomiting and that anti-vomit medicine is dangerous so we’re going to just take things as they come, and get through this one step at a time. If I think you’re getting critical, I’ll call the ambulance. But you’re still peeing plenty and your temperature’s not winning yet”

“Bro” Dave moaned softly, “No more” he sounded so tired, so broken. Bro felt his words stab him right in the heart. 

“I know…I know you’ve had enough. So have I. But we can’t give up on trying” he said. “You’re going to puke your guts out at the hospital just as much as here. And I’m worried they’d overlook you with how busy they are treating other patients. At least here, you have the full attention of someone who loves you and is gonna do everything in their power to help you make it through this nightmare to the other side” 

Bro’s phone vibrated against his ass and he looked to the side, reaching to pull it out. There was a message from Jake ‘Hey Dirk, is everything all right there? I’ve had this awful feeling since last night and I tried to ignore it but it just won’t go away. I just want to make sure I’m not being paranoid for nothing’

Bro texted back ‘Are you in classes right now? I need to call you’

‘No I’m free until later today. Hells bells. What’s wrong? Are you okay? Is Dave okay? Do I need to come home?’

Bro pressed the call button next to Jake’s name and the phone rang once before he picked up “Dirk! Tell me what’s wrong. Is everything all right?! Dave’s not hurt is he? You’re not sick or something?” 

“Dave is sick” Bro answered, one arm still wrapped around the teen clinging to his chest. “You know how you mentioned that warmblood virus that’s started spreading to humans? Well –"

“Fucking blimey! He hasn’t! Oh my god, he has got it hasn’t he? How long has he been sick? Did you ring the hospital? Are you at home or in the hospital right now?” Jake fired off questions, sounding full of worry and concern for them both. 

“Calm down, Jake. Neither of us panicking is going to help the situation. Dave’s been sick since yesterday, all of last night and most of today. But I’m taking care of him, and he’s not losing the fight so far. Though he’s lost the will to keep fighting it. We’re working on that though. We’re still at home but I rang emergency and talked to a nurse at the hospital and we’re following her advice. I don’t want to bring him in unless I really, really have to. The hospital’s crowded with warmblood virus patients right now and I know they’ll be run off their feet. I can’t let Dave be overlooked, not even for a minute. He’s got my full attention here, and I’m helping him every way I know how” 

“I’m catching the soonest flight home!” Jake swore heartily. “You guys shouldn’t go through this alone. And Dirk, you need to rest and look after yourself as well!” 

“I know. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine”

“Why didn’t you call me sooner and let me know? I could have been there sooner” 

“Didn’t want you to worry, and I know you’re busy teaching classes. Plus the time zone differences meant I would have had to call you at some ungodly hour” 

“Well, I worried anyway, Dirk! Next time something like this happens, call me straight away. I don’t jolly well care what time of the day or night it is. I want to be there to help you and Dave. You’re my family and I care about both of you. You don’t have to keep secrets or hold things back from me. You can tell me anything, everything!” 

“It’s still going to take you eleven hours minimum to get over here. By the time you arrive, he might even be feeling better” Dirk pointed out. 

“I don’t care. I’m coming over” Jake hung up and Dirk sighed, sliding his phone back into his pocket. There was no stopping that man when he fixed his mind on something. He couldn’t help a smile. “Stubborn ass” he muttered with an amused tone. 

Dave moaned softly and nuzzled into him, shivering. His stomach was making soft gurgling noises. Bro picked up the water bottle that Dave had been hugging earlier. “Hey, Jake’s coming over to see us. You wanna drink some water so you don’t die before he gets here?” Bro coaxed, opening the pop top lid and holding it to Dave’s mouth. He tipped it up and some water dripped into his mouth. 

Dave swallowed it sleepily and reached for the bottle. He tried to hold it up but his arm felt weak and he was still shaking. Bro’s hand covered his and helped him put the bottle in his mouth. Dave started to drink slowly while Bro tilted it up and squeezed the bottle just a little. He paused when water flowed out of Dave’s mouth down his chin, giving him a second to catch his breath. 

“Come on, just a little more. I need you to drink as much as you can” Bro coaxed, putting the tip of the bottle back in his mouth. 

Dave’s arm was aching. He let go of the bottle and leaned his full weight on Bro, drinking from the water bottle while Bro held it. Occasional dribbles of water ran out the sides of his mouth but Bro continued feeding him until most of the water was gone. He put the almost empty bottle on the bedside table and sat Dave up a bit more, his arm round his back to support him as Dave leaned heavily on Bro. “That was good. Very good. You did well, Dave. Try to tell me if you have to pee later, okay?” 

“Nnn” Dave gave a tiny nod. “M’ hot Bro” 

Bro felt his forehead again “Yeah, still warm. The medicine’s doing its job though; you’re not crazy hot like before. Do you think you can eat something for me? Just a few bites” 

Dave groaned unhappily. “Wanna sleep. M’so tired. Food’s gross”

“Vomit is gross. Food’s energy. I’m gonna get you something small” Bro decided. He picked up Dave in his arms as he got off the bed then turned around and laid him back down on the towels and tucked the sheet over him. “I’ll be back. Sit tight”

Bro hurried off to get some dry toast ready and a few crackers. He came back into the room to find Dave half asleep, one arm hugging his belly. Bro sat on the bed next to Dave and pulled him into his lap, waking him up. He put the plate of toast and crackers on the bed and picked up a square of toast to give to him “Just a tiny bite” 

Dave took the toast and nibbled on it, groaning softly as he did. 

“I know you don’t like it. Not too fast, eat it slowly” 

Bro reached around to feel Dave’s stomach while he ate, and started to rub soothing circles into it. Dave relaxed under his touch. He managed to finish the first square of toast and start on the second. He finished the plate of dry toast and the crackers. Bro set it aside and wiped crumbs off Dave’s face with the sleeve of his shirt. “That should give you a bit of energy” He went to get up and tucked Dave back into bed. Bro took the plate out to the kitchen to rinse it so ants wouldn’t come. He came back into the room to find Dave fast asleep. 

Bro didn’t want to leave him on his own, so he grabbed his laptop and settled down next to Dave, leaning back against the pillows. He paused his anime episodes every so often to check Dave’s pulse and temperature. He also pulled back the sheet to check his stomach, which was starting to grow louder and louder as it rolled and roiled. It was swelling up gradually, pushing out from under Dave’s top. His temperature started to go back up again too. Bro set his laptop aside and shook Dave awake. “Hey Lil man, how are you feeling? Do you have to pee?” Bro asked, thinking of the water bottle earlier and the two wetting accidents so far. 

Dave sat up and swayed slightly which caused Bro’s arms to shoot out and steady him. Dave rubbed the palm of his right hand on his cheek and eye, clumsy and sleepy. “Yeah” he answered Bro’s question. His bladder felt full. 

“All right, hold up, I’ll help you to the bathroom” Bro hopped off the bed and went around to Dave’s side. He helped him sit up and then steadied him as he stood on shaky legs. Bro had his arm around him, holding him around the ribs under his arm. He walked him down the hallway towards the bathroom and led him up to the toilet. “Are you okay to go by yourself?” 

“Uh huh” Dave mumbled. 

“All right. I’ll just wait outside to walk you back to bed when you’re done. Call out if you need me” Bro let him go and Dave reached a hand out to steady himself against the wall. Bro walked out of the room and shut the door but not fully closed. He stood with his back to it, keeping an ear out. 

He heard some shuffling and then the sounds of liquid trickling into water. Oddly though, some of it sounded like it was hitting the tiles. Bro had a bad feeling “You okay in there?” he called out. 

“I’m peeing!” 

“Okay” He waited a few more minutes “Dave?” No reply. Bro turned around and pushed the door open, finding Dave half conscious, passed out leaning against the wall. He was sitting on the toilet and his pants were soaked. Bro slapped a hand to his forehead “Damn it. I knew I should have stayed with you” he sighed. There was pee on the floor around the toilet as well. 

Bro picked Dave up and set him down in the bath tub for the time being. He had to get some more clothes. He went to Dave’s room and found one of his old shirts that Dave had nabbed. He grabbed a pair of underwear and decided a t-shirt and those would be enough. He flashed back to the bathroom and got Dave cleaned up, removing his current clothes and rinsing him with some warm water. He dried him off and lay him on a towel on the floor to dress him. Dave tossed and turned his head fitfully and mumbled things. He was sweating again. Bro felt his forehead and lymph nodes under his chin. Dave was really out of it. He picked him up and carried him back to bed, laying him down, stroking his hair back lovingly. He lay down behind him and wrapped an arm around him, starting to rub his stomach. Dave groaned softly. He was going to have to puke soon for sure.   
Bro wondered what would happen if he helped things along. Dave’s stomach was full and churning under his palm. What harm could it do if he forced it out sooner? He tried applying more pressure to Dave’s stomach and the teen made a pained sound and curled up in response. Bro pressed a little harder and Dave cried out in pain. He startled awake and grabbed Bro’s arm “That hurtsss”

“I’m sorry. You’re so full. I just thought this would help you get rid of some sooner” 

“N-no, feels like knives!” Dave gasped. 

“What happens if you try to throw up?” Bro asked, concerned and also feeling shitty for hurting his kid. 

Dave tried shoving a finger down his throat. He gagged hard and let out another pained cry “Forcing it hurts!” 

“Fuck” Bro swore. “What the hell? First you can’t stop puking and now you can’t puke” 

“I feel sick though. Ughh” 

“Like you’re gonna throw up?” 

“Uhn” Dave nodded slightly. 

“But you can’t force it?” 

“Nuh…too hurtss” Dave slurred 

Bro sighed. “Sorry for hurting you. This thing almost seems sentient. It won’t come out till you’re full and then when it does come out, it fills buckets” 

“Just kill me” Dave complained. He wrapped his arms around his midsection and moaned, drawing his knees up. 

“Try to get some more sleep” Bro said in a hushed tone. 

“Bro, I don’t feel good” 

“I know” he rubbed his stomach some more. “You’re really out of it. You’re not acting like yourself”

“Uuh” Dave made a noise of discomfort. 

“It’s okay. You’ll be okay” he stroked his hair back gently. “Shhhh. Just try to sleep honey. Block it out” 

“Bro, I wanna” Dave sounded feverish and his words slurred and lisped slightly 

Dirk started to rub his stomach again, gently moving his arms out of the way so he could reach it. “Feels like you’re pregnant with angry spirits” he joked. 

“Fuck no” Dave mumbled. The belly rubs seemed to be helping, he was starting to fall back to sleep. “Don’t leave me” 

“I won’t. I’ll stay here and watch over you” 

With those words, Dave finally drifted off again. Bro stayed, quietly rubbing his angry, full stomach, to try and help keep him asleep. After a while, Bro decided to check his phone to see what time it was. Dave had been sleeping for roughly 30 minutes now. Bro played around on his phone, checking different sites and reading things. He wasn’t going to leave Dave’s side but he needed something to do so he didn’t fall asleep with him. 

He was reading a particularly riveting fan fiction when he noticed Dave tossing and turning. The teen was whimpering softly and mumbling unintelligibly. Bro could make out a few words. “Bro…no! Don’t leave me! Help! Bro!” 

Bro put his phone down on the bed and reached over to pull Dave closer to him in a hug. He reached up to feel his forehead but he didn’t need to touch Dave’s head to tell he was burning up again. His body was so hot and he was sweaty and panting and thrashing around. Dave startled Bro suddenly by startling awake with a gasp. He grabbed onto Bro’s shirt and looked at him with hazy red eyes “Get them out of me! Please, I’m scared! They won’t shut up. They’re eating my insides. It hurts!” he sounded panicked and fearful. 

“Get what out of you? Angry spirits?” 

“Yes! Please, god. Help me!” he was terrified. 

“Oh baby, that was a joke. You’re okay. There’s no angry spirits. Nothing’s eating your insides, okay? You’re just sick. I’m sorry I said that. It was just a metaphor” Bro felt guilty as heck. 

“Bro, d-don’t leave me. I’m sorry. I hated you but, I – I don’t want you to leave!” 

“I’m not going anywhere sweetheart, just calm down” 

“I’m sorry, I killed you. Please, stop bleeding” Dave started pressing his hands to Bro’s midsection, as though trying to staunch the flow of blood. He started crying. 

“Hey. Shhh, it’s okay. Dave, shhh, Stop…it’s okay sweetie” Bro pulled him close, gently grabbing his hands that were frantically scrabbling at his chest. “Shoot, you’re hallucinating. What do I do now?” he wiped the tears from his eyes and cheeks using his hands. 

Dave collapsed against Bro’s chest, dizzy and exhausted, panting. Drool leaked out the corner of his mouth and dampened Bro’s shirt. “Ahh, I can’t…I’m s- I’m drowning-!” Dave’s words struggled out of him in short gasps. He moaned and curled up on himself suddenly as a cramp seized his insides. Dave let out a low moan of agony. He choked a bit and gagged.

“Oh, this is it” Bro said to himself. He gently moved Dave and turned him over so he was lying on one of the old towels underneath him. Bro doubted he could get Dave to lean over a bucket right now, since he couldn’t even get him to sit up. And standing was out of the question. A burp left Dave’s pale lips and Bro moved to support him, one hand pressing palm down on his upper chest as he held him secure. “You’ll be okay kid. Just try to relax for me” Bro said calm and caring. 

“Bro! Uuhn!” Dave struggled for another minute or so, “Don’t wanna…don’t make me do it all over again” he muttered “I can’t. I – I had enough! Please” a long, slow belch rumbled quietly past his lips before his body jerked in a gag, and he leaned hard against Bro’s supporting arm. A shocking burst of orange spewed from his lips in a violent splatter, staining the greyish white towel. Bro suddenly had doubts about the effectiveness of the towels to soak up everything. Oh well, there was nothing he could do now. Moving Dave was a bad idea and would probably cause the mess to be spread all over the house. 

Dave was still having hallucinations. He was in space and there was no floor underneath him. The world spun slowly yet sickeningly around him, millions of stars twinkling and glimmering, so bright they were blinding like camera flashes. In the flashes, he caught glimpses of horrifying creatures and spirits in the darkness, floating around in there with him. And the huge green sun was burning above, turning everything an eerie green. It was so hot, he could feel himself scorching in its relentless heat. Something reached a ghostly hand into his stomach and twisted and he cried out in pain before liquid leapt from his mouth. Dave saw it as blood and intestines. He was horrified. He tried to scoop it back in 

“Dave, no. No! Stop” Bro’s voice held a slight laugh and horrified tone to it. He grabbed Dave’s wrist and stopped him trying to pull vomit off the towel towards him. “Don’t play in it, geez” 

Dave threw up again, and it poured over his arm and Bro’s hand. Some of it splashed the oversized t-shirt he was wearing. Dave groaned and coughed, trying to catch his breath. He fought off a gag, but it was followed by a stronger one and then an even stronger one that had orange spew pouring out like a fountain. 

Bro didn’t seem to care about his arm and hand getting puked on. He moved his hand and arm back to press against Dave’s chest, supporting him in a hug. “Get all that out of your system and I’ll clean you up baby” Bro soothed. “That’s it. Just let it come” He watched more and more orange chunky stuff surge out of Dave’s small body. His stomach let out a particularly loud bubbling growl before a large wave of vomit leaped out. The towel was soaked and the orange puke wasn’t stopping. Right, it would have been enough for a normal stomach bug but not for this. A whole bucket’s worth was fighting its way out violently. All they could do was ride it out together until it ended. Like the world’s most disgusting roller coaster. 

Dave puked, gasped for breath, puked some more, took a moment to breathe and spit, puked again…Bro kept careful watch over him the whole time and helped as much as he could. He could feel him spasming against his arm and body. 

When it was finally over, the bed was soaked and splattered, and Bro was absolutely certain that his mattress and sheets would be stained that horrible shade of orange for a long time. He was more concerned about his child however. Bro grabbed the top sheet and pulled it up to clean Dave’s face with it. “There ya go, good kid, it’s all out now” he soothed. “Looks like another bath is needed. I don’t know how it got this colour but its nasty” he scrunched his nose up at the smell. It looked pretty gross as well. 

Dave was unresponsive. He was staring at nothing, eyes half lidded. His mouth hung slightly open and he seemed limp and sleepy. Bro reached over to gently cup his cheek and turn him to look at him “Hey, you still with me?” he asked, worried, but trying not to show it. 

Dave blinked slowly and a confused look was replaced by a glimmer of recognition “B-bro” 

Bro gave a small relieved smile. “Yeah. I’m here. Man this thing is rough. We survived round five” he gently pulled Dave into his arms, trying to avoid hurting his tender abdomen. Dave still let out a moan of pain. “Sorry honey. I know it’s sore. I’m not trying to hurt you. C’mon, let’s get you cleaned up and I’ll give you some more medicine” He scooted off the side of the bed that wasn’t a sea of orange and stood up, holding Dave close. Dirk carried him to the bathroom and set him in the tub, peeling off his soaked slick shirt and boxers. He started to run warm water and rinse Dave off thoroughly before putting the plug in and letting it fill. Dave leaned against the side of the tub with his eyes closed, resting on his folded arms. Bro washed him, being extra gentle around his sore belly and abdomen. He held him up while he cleaned his chest, face, neck and arms. He got him clean and rinsed off, then into a big fluffy towel and dried. Bro laid Dave on the towel upon the floor and flash stepped to get more clothes. He dressed Dave in some underwear, red sweatpants and his Cherry Cola tee, black with white writing and some cherries underneath. He sat on the floor cross legged and picked Dave up into his lap. Dave was floppy and still really warm. His body was shivering though. “B-bro…so c-cold” Dave’s teeth chattered. 

Bro felt his forehead and cheeks. “Okay, medicine time. Come with Bro” He scooped Dave up in his arms and stood. Dave curled into him, trying to huddle closer for warmth. “Shhh” Bro kissed his forehead. “Gonna lay you down on the futon for now” He gently laid Dave on the cleaned and remade couch bed, lying his head on a large comfy cushion. He covered him with the light blanket he’d cleaned and dried in their washing machine and dryer earlier. “Gonna bring you some medicine, kay. Stay here” Bro turned and walked back to the kitchen to grab the strawberry medicine he’d dosed him with earlier. His fever was relentless. It seemed to climb back up after several hours. This would provide relief from the pain too. Dave’s whole body had to be sore right now, from what it’s been through. 

Dirk grabbed a bottle of flat soda from the fridge door. Dave needed to rehydrate after that intense bout of vomiting. He put the soda into the drink bottle from earlier after washing it. He then brought the soda and medicine and perched on the edge of the futon. He reached over and gently brushed his cool knuckles against Dave’s cheek, stirring him from his stupor. Dave wasn’t sleeping, but he wasn’t all there either. He was awake but not really registering the world around him. His eyes gazed at invisible things Bro couldn’t see. “Come on sweetheart, wake up for me. Dave, c’mon…there you go” Bro coaxed him to focus on him. He filled the plastic spoon with medicine and brought it to Dave’s mouth “Here, can you take this for me?” 

Dave opened his mouth in a dazed manner and Bro fed him the strawberry goop. Dave struggled to get it down but eventually managed to, slow and clumsy. Some of it dribbled out the side of his mouth, mixed with saliva. Bro gently wiped him off on his own shirt. “Good, really good. Now this. Little sips baby” he put the open lid of the bottle to Dave’s mouth and took his hand, lifting it to grasp the bottle. Dave weakly grasped it and started drinking the sweet, flat soda. It was just lemonade so Bro hoped it would go easy on his sensitive tummy. 

Bro took off his shades and rubbed his face tiredly before putting them back on. “Shit. What should I do? Hospital, or keep trying here? You’re so out of it. Maybe I should call an out of hours GP to come take a look at you” He reached out and took Dave’s slender wrist, testing his pulse. “That’s better than it was, but still not great” Bro got up and went to the laundry, coming back with some new dampened cloths which he put on the back of Dave’s neck and on his forehead. He went to get a hot water bottle and filled it up, returning to place it on Dave’s sore tummy. “Hope this helps kiddo. Now we wait for the meds to do their bit” 

Dave seemed to relax under the soothing warmth from the hottie and the soothing coolness of the cloths. Bro studied him, taking in his appearance. Pale, flushed, sweaty, shaky. He was lightly sucking on the drink bottle, downing tiny bits of Sprite. He made a soft hum of acknowledgement at Bro’s voice. 

“You don’t seem to be getting better yet. Hell, maybe you’re worse now than before” Bro worried. “How many more times is this going to repeat itself? When does it end?” 

Dave didn’t answer and Bro didn’t expect him to. “Good thing it’s summer right now. The air con’s keeping the house chill for you. You should be out having fun with your friends”

Speak of the devil and he shall come knocking. Or so the old saying goes. There was a knock at the door. Bro pressed a loving hand to Dave’s shoulder before caressing his cheek. “Hold on, I’ll be right back. Call if you…I’ll be right back” he doubted Dave had the presence of mind to call out to him if something went wrong. Not in this state. He got up as the knocking continued and went to open the door of the apartment. “Hey. Oh. John, Jade, Rose. Let me guess, you’re here to see Dave?” 

John answered “Yeah. He hasn’t been answering any of our texts or calls. We got worried. We were supposed to hang out at my place today and watch ghost movies and play Fatal Frame but he never showed up. Is he okay?” 

“He’s sick” Bro replied. “And it’s not something I want any of you to contract so I’m sorry but I can’t let you in” 

“Seriously? What does he have? Is he okay?” Jade asked, her wide green eyes concerned behind her glasses “We brought DVDs to watch. Are you sure we couldn’t just sit and keep him company?” 

Bro hesitated. He didn’t want to worry them but he didn’t want to lie to them either. “He’s got the mutated version of the warmblood virus that’s been going around. He’s too out of it right now to watch anything, let alone recognise you or that you’re here. Your guardians would be upset if you came down with it too. So I think we’ll have to call this one a miss, but I appreciate the good intentions and I know Dave will too once he’s well enough to realise”

The three all had various shocked and concerned reactions. “Are you sure we couldn’t just come in to see him briefly?” Rose asked “We won’t touch anything or get too close. Maybe we could be of some assistance. Is there anything you need at the store? Medicine, hydration solutions, foods tolerable with an upset stomach?” 

Bro smiled “Actually, yeah, that would be great. I wanted to go to the store but I can’t leave him right now. No one else is home to look after him. Jake’s on his way back from New Japan but that’s an eleven hour flight at minimum. If I give you some money and a list of stuff, would you mind getting it for him?” 

“Not at all” Rose smiled. “I’m sure he’d do the same were any of us in the same position” 

“All right then! Let’s get Dave a get well soon pack!” Jade chimed in with positive determination. “Snacks, medicine, entertainment” 

“We could still leave the DVDs here” 

Bro leaned out the doorframe a bit “Oh yeah, what have you got?” he put out his hand and John handed them over. Dirk looked at them “Oh, these are good movies. But I think we’ll have to say no to these even so. Dave’s been having hallucinations about ghosts attacking him, and I don’t really think these would help matters” 

John took them back with a grim expression “Wow. That’s horrible. Well, I’ll find something else for him”

“Hold on a moment. You guys can come in but be quiet” Bro warned “Just wait while I write a list and get you some cash” Bro pushed the door open some more and turned to walk back into the house. He found a notepad that he usually kept in the kitchen to write their weekly groceries on. 

He found a pen and quickly began scribbling stuff down on the note pad while Jade, Rose and John walked inside. They walked into the living room and fell quiet when they saw Dave. He was lying on the futon and his eyes were closed. The bottle of lemonade was lying beside him, still loosely gripped in his hand. They sniffed and cringed at the faint smell of puke in the house. Bro hadn’t had a chance to clean up his bed and mattress yet and the smell was drifting down the hallway. It was a tribute to Bro’s cleaning skills that the house smelled as clean as it was, it could have been worse. 

“He’s so pale” Jade whispered, tiptoeing closer to Dave. “Oh my gosh, he looks like he has a bad fever”

“Poor Dave. I heard the virus makes you puke a lot. He looks exhausted” John said in a hushed tone. 

“Not much brings down a Strider. This has to be tough for them” Rose mentioned. She noticed the hot water bottle and cold cloths on Dave “His Bro must be trying hard to take care of him at home. This normally results in hospital stays” 

“He seems to be out cold for now” John muttered. “Probably a good thing” 

“We should get him some of that stuff that stops vomiting” Jade suggested. 

They heard Bro’s footsteps moving around the house. 

“We could get him something to listen to” Rose added. “When you’re too sick to do much, audio books can be good. Or music. Though I’m sure he has an iPod somewhere. All of us love music, especially Dave”

“Well, we could buy an iTunes card and get his Bro to load soothing sounds on it. Rain, thunder, birds, streams, that sort of thing” Jade said “That stuff really helps me relax, it’s sort of like gentle white noise. Dave’s probably really sensitive right now” 

John thought “What about an air purifier? How much do those cost? Or some tea. My dad says peppermint or ginger are good for upset stomachs. Maybe something to cheer him up” 

Bro padded back into the room. Dave stirred a little, shifting positions in his sleep. He moaned softly. Sweaty bangs fell across his forehead and the cloth covering it. 

Dirk looked at the three teens, once adults, and held out the list and some money for them to take. “Here. Sorry, it’s a bunch of stuff I need to get. I just don’t want to leave him for a second. This is pretty serious. He needs constant supervision” 

John took the list while Rose took the money. They looked at the list together. “It’s okay. Most of this stuff should be easy to get and cheap enough” John said, looking up at Bro. “We’ll be back as soon as we can” he looked at Dave “We won’t let you down” 

Bro smiled at them “Thanks. This means a lot. Dave is lucky to have you as friends” 

“He’d do the same for us” Jade insisted “We have each other’s backs”

“A’ight, well, be careful. And don’t rush. We’ll manage until you get back. Take care” Bro gave them a goodbye salute and they returned the gesture, turning around and hurrying out of the apartment and back to the lifts. 

Even though Bro said not to hurry, Dave looked terrible and they were all worried. “Where should we go first?” John asked. 

“Supermarket, then chemist” Rose said, leading the way towards the shopping centre. They’d caught a train and then a bus to Dave’s neighbourhood. It was big enough to have it’s own shopping centre with a collection of commonly used stores and businesses. “Don’t put your hands near your face. Until we can get some hand sanitiser. I know we didn’t touch anything but just to be sure nothing spreads” 

They did as she said and together headed into the supermarket to tick things off Bro’s shopping list; paper towels, garbage bags, laundry detergent, vinyl tablecloths for some odd reason, rubber gloves, new toothbrushes and paste, jello powder, Clorox wipes, apple sauce, white bread, sushi rice, crackers, bananas, plain noodles, hand sanitiser, peppermint tea, ginger and honey tea and an iTunes card. 

After that they had to go to the chemist and pick up the rest, which ended up being: air purifier, thermometer that works in your ear or underarm, waterproof mattress covers, absorbent pads, Pedialyte, and some more fever and pain reducer (the strawberry flavoured stuff) and from all of them, a stuffed toy to hug that smelled of soothing lavender.   
Bro was replacing the cool cloths on Dave and reheating the hot water for the water bottle. He’d just tucked it back in with Dave (under a protective soft cover shaped like a unicorn of course so it wouldn’t burn him), when he heard a knock at the door. Bro went to open it and stepped aside, motioning the three teens into the room “Hey, that was quick. Here, let me get those” he graciously grabbed all the shopping bags from them and took them into the kitchen, setting them on the counter. 

John held out the change they had left over. “Here, Dirk, this is yours” 

“Keep the change” Bro said. “Go buy something nice, have fun. Whatever. Just don’t hang around here. Dave and I appreciate the help but neither of us wants you to get sick too” he said firm yet gentle. He started to put the food on the counter in easy reach, along with the medicine. Bro pulled out a bottle of the lavender antiemetic he’d given Dave earlier “Oh, hey, I forgot to tell you not to get this stuff. The virus interacts weirdly with it and it can actually cause stomach ruptures, so yeah, just keep that in mind and tell anyone you know about it” 

“Oh, so it won’t help Dave at all?” Jade frowned, “That’s a bummer. Well, maybe just keep it for the future, in case one of you gets a normal stomach bug” 

“I wish this was a normal stomach bug” Bro complained. “Thanks for grabbing the supplies though, that really helps” he pulled out the soft toy cat and smiled at it “Wow, that’s cute. Smells like lavender” 

He put the toy under his elbow and dug around some more, taking things out “An iTunes card? What’s this for?” 

“We thought he could listen to some soothing nature sounds while he rests” Jade piped up. “That always helps me” 

“Or maybe subscribe to a podcast he likes, or get audio books” Rose said. “I know he has an iPod and I’m sure he’d be grateful to have something that takes his mind off feeling terrible” 

Bro was smiling “Well that’s the nicest damn thing ever. You guys are sweet. When Dave’s back on his feet I’m sure he’ll tell you thanks for all this. But for now you better get. I can handle things on my own here” Bro grabbed a packaged tablecloth and the new thermometer. He still had the cat plush pinned under his arm. “All right, come on, I’ll see you out” he said, and started to walk them back through the living room and down the hall to the front door. 

They opened the door and started to pile out, before John turned around and looked at Dirk with serious blue eyes “Tell him we said hi and that we hope he feels better soon” 

“Will do. See ya. Take care” Bro told them, waving them off as he shut the door. He didn’t like forcing them out of the apartment but he hoped to whatever gods there were that none of them got infected. He was sure their caregivers would be pissed at him if that happened. Plus he didn’t want anyone else to have to go through what his kid was currently enduring. It sucked major dick. 

Bro turned and strode over to Dave. He sat on the edge of the sofa and tore open the new thermometer packaging with his teeth. Bro turned it on, briefly read the instructions on the back of the pack and slipped the thermometer under Dave’s armpit. “This’ll be easier than trying to get the old one in your mouth” he muttered. He tucked the cat plush under Dave’s elbow and Dave automatically cuddled it close, shifting positions. After a minute, the thermometer beeped and Dirk took it back to read the digital display. “39.5 Not great” he frowned. “Least it’s not in the danger zone though. But you’re still burning up” He pulled back the light blanket covering Dave and reached to push his t-shirt up and feel his stomach. It was soft and a little bit puffy but empty enough for now. Bro tucked the blanket back around Dave, up to just under his ribcage. He didn’t want him to overheat but Dave’s body shivered with chills as his brain got confused and tried to adjust. Dave’s body felt hot and his brain interpreted that as the environment being too cold, and shivered as a method to warm him up. Stupid brain. 

Bro stroked Dave’s hair back and leaned over to kiss his temple. “Stay asleep” he whispered. He got up and went to Dave’s room, tore open the vinyl tablecloth and pulled back the covers and sheet on Dave’s bed. Bro shook out the tablecloth and smoothed it out over the mattress. This thing would be easy to wipe down when Dave got sick again and the fabric underside meant it wouldn’t slide around no matter how much Dave tossed and turned. He wished he thought of it earlier for the futon. Oh well. Bro went to go clean up his room, grabbing rubber gloves, paper towels, fabric cleaner, a garbage bag, the air purifier, waterproof mattress cover and absorbent pads (they were for bedwetting but they could come in useful to soak up other liquids). He marched down the hall, held his breath, set up the air purifier and got cleaning. It took him a while. He threw on yet another load of laundry, grateful for the refill of more washing detergent. The washing machine and dryer, plus the outdoor washing line on the balcony plus the indoor line in the laundry were all getting their share of full use today. Bro also grabbed the Clorox wipes and went around the house wiping down surfaces, door handles and light switches. He wasn’t sure if Jake could contract it but he wanted to be sure just in case. Bro figured he would have come down with it by now if he was going to, so he must be immune. 

Once the house was clean, Dirk decided to make himself some lunch and sit down to relax. He made a sandwich and got a can of soda from the fridge. After he ate, he washed up and went to check on Dave again. He sat down on the edge of the futon and reached a hand out, removing the now warm cloths from his forehead and neck. He went to re-wet them with cold water then reapplied them. 

Dave stirred at the new feeling of coolness washing over his body and his eyes fluttered open. “Where am I?” his mouth clumsily formed words. He sounded confused, probably because he kept being moved around to different parts of the house. 

“In the lounge room, on the futon, had to clean up my room” Bro explained gently, reaching out to rub Dave’s arm comfortingly. “How’re you feeling? Doing any better?” 

“Don’t know” Dave mumbled, hugging the cat plush in his arms. He was slightly nauseous and felt lightheaded and confused. His dreams were fast paced and muddled. His body felt sore and worn out. Dave struggled to process the multiple feelings “I feel weird” 

“You probably need some more water. I’m gonna get you something to snack on and drink while we have the chance” Bro stopped rubbing Dave’s arm and stood, thinking over what he could make for him. 

“Where’d I get this from?” Dave asked, looking at the toy cat that was emitting a soothing scent. 

“Ah, right. Your friends came to visit while you were out. John, Jade and Rose; they said to tell you hi and that they hope you get better soon. They bought you that plus a bunch of stuff from the store. Oh and an iTunes gift card. You wanna listen to some nature sounds or audio books, maybe a podcast?” 

Dave blinked, his face scrunching up as he got confused by all the words coming out of Bro’s mouth. “I dunno” he mumbled. “Mmmnn” he rolled over, pulling the blanket up around his shoulders, curling into a ball. 

Bro let him rest and went to prepare some food. He made a bowl of apple sauce and stirred jello powder into it. He read on his phone earlier that it could help coagulate things a bit. He also chopped up some banana into small slices and put another piece of bread in the toaster. He refilled Dave’s drink bottle with iced peppermint tea and hoped that helped him. 

Bro carried the tray of food into the living room and set it down on the coffee table. He reached over to jostle Dave’s shoulder gently “Hey kid, need you to wake up for me” 

Dave rolled onto his back and groaned. His hair was sticking up at odd angles. “I don’t wanna sit up” he complained, tired and whiny. 

“You can’t eat lying down” Bro reasoned. “Here, come on, up you go” he helped Dave sit up and propped up some cushions for him to lie on. 

“Bro I’m dizzy” Dave said weakly and started to tip sideways. Bro sat down on the futon and pulled him into his lap. “I’ll hold you, just lean back on me, okay” 

“Mmm” Dave agreed, calming down once he was in his Bro’s arms. He was limp and heavy, almost boneless. Bro placed the plate of apple sauce on his lap and scooped up a spoonful. “Here, try some of this. You like apples” 

Dave opened his mouth and took the apple, swallowing after a moment. 

“That’s it. Good boy” Bro kept feeding him till it was gone. He managed to coax Dave into eating half the white bread toast and a few pieces of banana before offering him the iced tea. Dave slowly drank it while cuddling into Bro. His body felt so hot. Bro touched his skin and found it sticky from sweat. He left the plates and stuff on the tray on the coffee table and leaned back with Dave lying on top of him. Bro rubbed his back gently while he drank, his eyes half lidded and sleepy. The cat toy was loosely hugged under his arm. Dave drifted back to sleep on Bro. Bro petted his hair and then pulled out his phone. He wasn’t going to fall asleep this time because he knew the next time Dave woke, it would be when he had to vomit again. 

Bro surfed the web and played around on his phone. Dave’s stomach slowly filled over the next hour or two and Bro could feel the activity ramping up again, burbling and gurgling vibrations against his own stomach, and pressure as Dave’s belly swelled out. “Kay, things are getting serious now. Think we better be ready for puke number 6” Bro put his phone away and got up with Dave in his arms. He lay him on the far end of the couch and went to get another vinyl tablecloth, spreading it out on the couch. Bro added three absorbent pads to the top of the liner. He went and grabbed Dame Edna plus a spare, just in case one bucket wasn’t enough. Bro then came back and picked Dave up then resettled him, lying him down on his side. Dave was starting to drool in his sleep, and he was making soft moans of discomfort and pain. Bro sat the edge and just rubbed his back, or stroked his hair back, trying to keep him asleep for as long as possible. Dave started to toss and turn a bit and began to mumble things, sleep talking. Eventually he started to cry and woke up in tears. “Bro! Bro!” 

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here” Dirk soothed him “What’s got you so upset, honey?” 

“I was being cooked alive, so then I tried to kill the crocodiles, but they made me eat my friends!” Dave blubbered, sobbing. “And you disappeared, and I couldn’t find you. And then I had to play The Game again and you kept dying and everyone hated me and I couldn’t-”

Bro took Dave into his arms and started to rock him gently as the teen cried into his shirt. He was hysterical, and tears were pouring out. “Shhhhh baby. It’s okay. You’re having fever induced nightmares and what you went through was scarring, its dragging up old memories. That’s all they are, just memories. Dave….shhh shhh, it’s okay” he rubbed his back and kissed his forehead, holding him close as he let him cry it out. He eventually got Dave to calm down and stop. Dave was panting and dripping from his nose, eyes and mouth after the crying fit ceased. Bro grabbed one of the damp cloths that had fallen and wiped up his face with it. 

“You feeling sick, honey?” 

“Uhh huhh” Dave moaned out. “I gotta…I gotta….” He burped and dribbled a bit more. “I can’t breathe. My stomach hurts!” He clutched at his belly as a cramp rolled through it. It let out an angry bubbling sound at that and Bro gently manoeuvred Dave onto his side while leaning against Bro, reaching down beside the couch for the bucket. He placed the pink glittery Dame Edna on his lap, positioning the rim under Dave’s chin. Dave’s breathing started getting more laboured and he leaned heavily on Bro, clearly dizzy and delirious. Small burps bubbled up and escaped every now and then, along with more dribble. A small spasm went through Dave’s body and he groaned “B-Bro. I don’t wanna do this anym-” he gagged “-ore. I’m scared. Plea-” a harder gag seized him, forcing his head down “No, no, no, n-" Dave’s stomach lurched and a small stream of puke splashed into the bucket “Gah, hurg, ah- no” 

“Dave, don’t fight it, you’re hurting yourself. Let it out” Bro said. 

Dave let out a low moan and clutched his stomach. A longish belch rose up followed by a surge of vomit, thick and splattering into the pink bucket hard. 

“There you go” Bro rubbed his back as he threw up again and again, gasping in breaths between heaves. “Just breathe, that’s it” The vomit was dark brown this time and Bro wondered how it got that colour. It was less watery and runny than usual but only slightly. The jello powder must have worked somewhat. Bro felt his lap getting warm and wet but he wasn’t too concerned about it. Dave couldn’t help wetting with all the pressure and activity on his insides. The couch was covered and the absorbent pads were doing their job. 

Dave was leaning heavily on Bro and seemed dizzy or drunken. Bro did his best to hold the bucket under him to catch all of the mess. When it was full, he put it down and reached for the next one. Dave’s stomach let out an angry sick gurgle and Bro managed to catch the puke just in time. 

When he finally stopped throwing up, the second bucket was three quarters of the way full. Dave groaned in pain and curled in on himself, hiccupping and gagging with dry heaves. Bro reached over and rubbed his sore belly gently, “Take a deep breath honey. Breathe in slow, now out…nother deep breath, okay, just try to relax, breathe through em, and the gags will subside. There ya go”. Bro felt pretty useless. Tears were leaking slowly down Dave’s face. He wiped them on his shirt, kissing his forehead. “Just rest now…Dave?….shit” Dave passed out cold. Bro stroked his cheek gently after a minute, trying to rouse him back to consciousness. Dave slowly came round, blinking slowly and clinging to Bro’s shirt. He whimpered softly at the pain in his stomach and insides. 

Bro breathed a sigh of relief, he hadn’t realised he was holding his breath until now. “Thank god, okay. You’re back. Scared me there for a minute” Bro made no move to get up, he just lay down with Dave who he could feel shivering against him. “We’ll worry about meds in a bit. You were unconscious for about a minute, which isn’t good. I don’t want to move you or anything. I just want you to rest” Bro scooted down on the futon, laying Dave down on his chest. He pulled the light blanket up over Dave to his shoulders. “You’re shaking like a leaf. Fuck” Bro bit his lip “Hospital, or no?” 

“Here” Dave said softly, his lips pale. “Wanna stay…with you” he hiccupped gently. “Mm…don’t leave me again” 

“Okay” Bro agreed. He reached out to check the pulse in Dave’s neck and frowned. It was a little slower and weaker than usual but that could be accounted for since Dave had fainted and was coming back around slowly. He kept testing it over the next fifteen minutes and was relieved and glad when it started to get stronger and have a more normal pace. Bro gently rubbed Dave’s back while he rested. Dave was still hugging the cat plush under one arm. The scent of lavender battled with the scent of vomit from the two buckets beside the couch. 

Bro could feel the urine cooling on both of their clothes as well. He had to clean Dave up. In a moment or two, he told himself. Dave was sore and achy and fainty so he really just wanted to keep him comfortable. That’s all he could do, really. He stroked Dave’s hair back, noting his fever was rising again. “Jake should be half way here by now. He’ll probably turn up tomorrow morning” he stated. Bro had checked the texts on his phone and there were some from Jake letting him know that he got on a plane. 

“Hnn” Dave replied softly. 

Bro let him rest for ten more minutes then sat up and picked Dave up in his arms. “Time for clean up. I’ll run another bath for us” he said. He took Dave into the bathroom and lay him on the towel he’d left out earlier, peeling his damp underwear and sweatpants and sweat soaked t-shirt off. Bro lifted him into his arms and stepped into the tub, sitting down and shucking off his own clothes (the washing machine and dryer were getting the workout of their lives today). He started the warm water and tried not to think how the electric bill or water bill would look. He could worry about that stuff later. The bathroom was pretty warm as it was summer but the air con from outside the room was flowing through the open door. Bro had turned the tap on as fast as it could go and as the warm water rose, both of them sank into it and relaxed. Bro had to hold Dave up so he didn’t flop underwater and drown. He just let him lean back against him and grabbed a wash cloth to slowly start washing his stomach and legs. “There, this feels nice, don’t it? We can pretend we’re at a Japanese hot spring resort” he said “Just close your eyes and imagine it. The big deep baths, the views. Heck, Jake probably has pictures, he’s lived over there the past few months” 

“Sounds nice” Dave mumbled and winced a little when Bro moved the cloth over part of his upper abs. 

“Sorry honey. I know you’re sore. Thought this would help” 

“It’s hot and I’m hot but it’s kinda like a dream” Dave mumbled, his words slurring. “This is lava” he said after a while, scooping water up in his hands and watching it spill out of them. “Land of Heat and Clockwork; don’t tell me I never left” 

Bro washed Dave’s hair gently with some of the floral scented shampoo and conditioners he liked. “It’s not lava. Trust me on that. Tip your head back baby I gotta wash out your hair” Bro reached his hand out to hold Dave’s forehead, keeping water out of his eyes as he tipped some warm water over it to rinse out the conditioner he had massaged in. “There, now it’s nice and clean, and you smell like a girl, just how you like it” 

Bro wasn’t really surprised when at some point, Dave drifted off to sleep leaning back in the warm water against him. He pulled the plug and reached for their towels, getting them off the warmer and drying Dave off first. He tied his own towel around his waist and picked Dave up out of the empty tub, laying him down on the towel on the floor, leaving his towel wrapped around him like a blanket. He flashed to the laundry to get some fresh clothes for Dave; his heart shirt, underwear and a pair of pink leggings with Hello Kitty on them. Bro dressed Dave and then himself, pulling on an old tee, some boxers and a pair of loose blue pants that he usually wore to sleep in. Bro carried Dave into his own bedroom and tucked him in bed, which had a vinyl tablecloth and layered absorbent pads on it already. He went to the futon and got the stuffed lavender cat and brought it back to Dave. He tucked it in with him and pulled the sheets up over Dave, just to his underarms. Dave was as zonked out as a toddler that had been playing hard till they dropped. Bro leaned over, sweeping Dave’s bangs out of his face and pressing their foreheads together. He closed his eyes and focused on their temperature differences. Dave was definitely hot. He’d have to get more meds into him a bit later. 

Bro kissed Dave’s temple and pressed a hand to his shoulder briefly before leaving the room, going to clean up the wet pads and the two buckets. Dame Edna wasn’t that big and the laundry bucket was kind of medium sized but it was still mind blowing how that much stuff could come out of one small, slender teenage boy. Bro stripped the wet pads off the futon and put them into a garbage bag, tipped the full buckets down the toilet bit by bit with multiple flushes, and grabbed the Clorox wipes to wipe down the vinyl tablecloth covering the futon. “Right. Good. That’s done now. Fuck. What else can I do for him? Medicine? Medicine. Keep the fever down” Bro decided, muttering to himself as he cleaned up the place and put more laundry on. 

He was tidying Dave’s room a bit when he found his phone and Nintendo DS on the floor. He’d been too sick to use them earlier and they got pushed onto the ground with all Dave’s thrashing about. Bro put them on Dave’s desk. Then he spotted the iPod and decided to put it to use. Bro took it with him to the computer room and got some nature sounds, a few audio books and a subscription to a podcast Dave would like. He then loaded it onto Dave’s iPod. He brought it to him and placed it on the bedside table. Maybe he could listen to stuff when he wakes up. It beats lying there with nothing to do. Mind you, Dave’s hallucinations and fever dreams were keeping him occupied enough. 

Bro let him sleep for a couple of hours while he read some manga on his phone (Bro read a lot of manga that way). He sat at Dave’s computer desk leaning back in the comfy swivel chair. He then checked the time and got up to grab the meds and more drink of some kind. He decided on some raspberry Hydrolyte and filled Dave’s drink bottle with it. He went into his room, quietly stepping over the carpet to Dave’s bed. He reached out and gently shook him awake. “Dave…Dave…wake up for me, c’mon honey. I gotta get that fever under control” he coaxed. 

Dave gasped awake as though someone tossed cold water on him. He looked around wildly and clawed at the sheets before his gaze finally focused on Bro. He was panting and sweating as though he’d run a marathon, shaking as well. He started to relax again, curling in on himself with a moan. 

“Dave, you okay? What’s happening?” Bro asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. He put the spoonful of medicine on the bedside table and reached out to stroke Dave’s hair back. “You look freaked. What’s eating you?” 

“Those things; horror terrors. Ripping me apart, eating me alive. Shoving their tentacles…They…they were…then I was being operated on, and- and there was blood everywhere. Oh god, I, they forced me to eat him-then the zombie dogs…I didn’t wanna…it was horrible…”

Bro pulled Dave into his arms, holding him close in a hug. “Those are just nightmares. They’re fever dreams. None of them are real, okay? Man your head goes to some dark places when you’re feverish. No more Resident Evil for you” he chided gently, teasing but playful. He knew Dave had been playing the remastered versions of it lately, plus the newest RE7. He rocked him gently and rubbed his back until he started to calm down. Once he stopped hyperventilating and was overall calmer, Bro picked up the medicine. “Here, I need you to take this okay? It’ll make you less hot and take away the bad dreams” 

Dave remained leaning against Bro, clutching handfuls of his shirt. He opened his mouth and let him slip the spoon in, taking the medicine. Anything to stop the nightmares. He struggled to get it all down. His mouth felt so dry and pasty. Bro handed him the drink bottle “Here, wash it down” 

Dave took the drink bottle and weakly started drinking from it. The taste was pleasant enough. He didn’t like the way it settled in his stomach, sloshing around in the sensitive area. He removed the drink cap from his mouth and took a chance to breathe. Bro was warm and comforting. He could hear his heart beat and breathing. He smelled good too. When a minute or two had passed, Bro urged Dave to drink some more “Come on, Lil Man. I need ya to drink a bit more. If you get dehydrated we have no choice but to go to the hospital. So keep drinking okay? Come on, just a little bit more” when Dave didn’t make a move except to groan softly, he picked up the drink bottle from Dave’s limp grasp and gently tipped it as he placed the tip in his mouth. He was feeding him the liquid slowly. “There, that’s it. Just keep it up. That’s good” 

Little trickles escaped the sides of Dave’s mouth here and there but he managed to drink nearly 3 quarters of the bottle anyway. Bro put it aside and scooted back a bit farther on the bed, leaning against the wall. He wiped Dave’s mouth and chin on his old tee. His cool, dry hand slid up Dave’s pink heart shirt, pushing it up out of the way. Bro started to rub his stomach in soothing circles. “You want your cat plush?” 

Dave felt something nudge his arm and smelled the relaxing scent of lavender. He reached out and took it, cuddling it close. “Bro…I…when am I going to get better? How many more times do I have to puke? I don’t want to any more” he complained tiredly. “I don’t feel good again” he let out a soft burp and cuddled closer to Bro, shaking. He sounded whiny near the end of his sentence but he didn’t care. He was so over this. He’d had enough. He wanted to cry but he was too exhausted. His brow furrowed as he frowned and looked miserable. 

“I honestly don’t know. But this thing will run its course eventually. I think you might be sick for a few days at most. And you’ve already been sick since Friday evening, so probably another day or so, that’s my best guess” he kept rubbing Dave’s bloated stomach while he talked. Dave let out a whiny moan at hearing another day or so, “And I know you’ve had enough. I’m sorry you have to go through something so fucking shitty. If I could be the sick one instead, I’d gladly trade places. Seeing your kid in such a situation and being able to do nothing to help is the worst feeling in the world” he rubbed his belly with smooth, soothing strokes. “We gotta try to stay positive. Think good thoughts. At least we can plan around the virus. You feel sick, but your stomach’s not full yet. I’d say you have another couple of hours where you could sleep or try to distract yourself. Hey, John and your other friends left you some gifts. How about we listen to an audio book or something?” he reached out and picked up the iPod off the bedside table, showing it to Dave, holding it near his face so he could see through half lidded eyes. 

“Oh…yeah. That sounds good” Dave mumbled, shifting a bit and grimacing, he was clearly uncomfortable. “Audio book…don’t tell me…” 

Bro put one ear phone in Dave’s ear and one in his own and selected the audio file. It started playing; a group of voice actors narrating an anime. Dave smiled faintly at that “Bro…” he gave a weak chuckle. 

“Is it good?” 

Dave nodded “Mmhhmm” 

They sat there listening to the story together and Bro wasn’t really surprised when Dave fell asleep after half an hour, clutching the cat plush to his chest. He’d kept rubbing his sore stomach the whole time and with the soothing massage, relaxing lavender scent and the story taking his mind off how crappy he felt, Dave had been able to drift off again. Bro felt his forehead and cupped the side of his face in one hand. He was definitely still too warm but the medicine was fighting it down. Bro paused the iPod and gently removed the earbud from Dave’s ear. He put it aside and carefully got up so as not to wake the sleeping boy. 

He stood looking at Dave for a moment, watching the way his body trembled with tiny shivers and how he panted softly from the fever. He had dark smudges under his eyes, he was white as a sheet and flushed and sweaty and his hair was tousled. Bro wanted to do more for Dave. He wanted to do so much more…but he didn’t know what else he could do. Bro decided to go prepare some small, easy to digest meals and another bottle of hydration solution while his kid slept. He wished Jake would get here sooner but there was no way to accelerate the plane faster than it was already going. If Dave didn’t get better by tomorrow afternoon, Bro decided he’d take him into hospital then. Unless he started to improve somehow; then he and Jake would watch over and care for him until they beat this damn virus. Bro wished he could spare him the horrible process of purging the virus from his body in a couple of hours’ time. All they could really do was let things take their natural course then clean up the mess and comfort the victim. “I’ll be there for you, Lil’ bro” Dirk swore as he quietly left the room. 

He went to tidy up the house and take care of a few things, going to check on Dave every ten minutes or so. It might seem paranoid but things could always shift into dire straits without warning so he wanted to keep on top of it. Observing Dave’s body language and behaviour told him the information he needed. Eventually he got sick of going back and forth between Dave’s room and wherever he was in the rest of the house so he grabbed his laptop and sat on Dave’s computer chair, which he turned to face him while he sat the laptop on his lap. 

Time passed and the room was quiet except for the faint whoosh of the air con in the living room, the fan softly whirring above and Dave’s breaths, plus the small clicks of Bro’s computer keyboard and its built in touch pad with clickers. 

Bro immediately leapt to alert when Dave moaned and started to roll around in his bed. He was stammering and muttering things in his sleep and seemed to be having another nightmare. Bro knew he was delirious. He set his laptop on Dave’s computer desk next to his computer and got up from the chair, going over to the side of the bed. He reached out to place his hands on Dave’s shoulders, pinning him gently and stopping him from thrashing around. Dave immediately clutched onto Bro’s arm for dear life, as though bracing himself against some force. 

“Make it stop – I wanna get off!” He sounded scared and panicky. He was obviously on some kind of wild ride in his feverish mind. Suddenly he awoke with a start, gasping as his eyes flicked open. “Bro! Bro!” he called out, eyes cloudy and unseeing. “Help!” 

“I’m right here. It’s okay” 

“I-don-feel-gud” Dave managed to get those four slurred words out as one mangled word then follow it up with a strong, silent retch and a wave of chunky, slimy vomit that cascaded over Bro’s arm and all over Dave with a juicy squelch.

“Augh!” Bro let out a small noise of disgust. The puke was avocado green. “Ohh, that’s nasty” 

Dave heaved again and more vomit poured forth, all over his front and down his chin and neck. Bro snapped back to reality and helped turn him on his side “Over here, baby, over here. That’s it. Get it out” he reached out to stroke Dave’s hair back with his clean hand as the teen jerked and made a sound that was half gurgle half strained moan, flooding the absorption pads with the contents of his stomach. It spread out like a splatter of paint flooding a canvas, making patterns at the edges. 

Bro quickly snatched the lavender scented cat toy out of the way, putting it over on the bedside table. He then focused all of his attention on his poor sick kid, trying to help him through the worst of it. He rubbed his side and back as Dave retched and green contents poured forth in bigger gushes that seemed like they were trying to outdo the last. “So full, you’re so full….get it allll out, kid” Bro soothed, one hand placed on Dave’s chest to hold him steady while the other rubbed his back. He made an amused grossed out noise as green chunks splurted out of Dave’s nose with the next heave. “Oh ho ho ho! Sick. That stings…” he winced in sympathy. “Remember to breathe, hon. Take a breath. Yeah, okay, it’s okay” 

Dave whimpered and made small choking noises, trying to stem the flow of sick but losing to his body’s overwhelming urge to puke its guts out. “Gah!” he gasped in a breath after vomiting, which hitched on a hiccup and more green chunks burbled out of his mouth and nose. “Hrggblrrblrghh!” Some slight coughing and attempts to breathe normally for several breaths, then his stomach muscles contracted sharply, forcing more stuff out of his throat and mouth. Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes, which were red and a little puffy from tiredness. His entire body was shuddering violently. “B-bro, glrkhghhrrrrgh!” Sounds of splashing liquid filled the room as he kept being sick. He had reached out his hand to cling onto his Bro’s arm, despite the fact that his hand and arm were covered in vomit and were slippery. “I need- heurggh! Gah- blurrgh! Glurkbllrghhrr!” he coughed and gasped. “Water” 

“Okay, when you’ve finished vomiting. I’ll get you some more drink. Easy now, try to relax and let it come out naturally” Another waterfall of vomit leaped out of Dave, making the puddle on the bed bigger. The absorbent pads were sucking up as much of the nasty liquid as they could but even those were getting waterlogged. “I’m peeing” Dave gasped as warm liquid flowed down his legs and crotch. 

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. I’ll get you cleaned up, sweetheart. I just need to make sure you’re finished first. Here, lemme check” he reached for Dave’s top and pulled it up regardless of the amount of puke covering everything. Dave’s stomach was a round bulge, small but angry, gurgling and churning. A long low belch left Dave’s throat followed up by a spectacular gush of puke that rivalled a fire hose, projectiled off the side of the bed and sprayed Bro all over the bottom of his t-shirt and on his pants. Dave projectile vomited again, a bit weaker than last time but still enough to slop over the edge of the bed and drip onto the carpet. His hand curled into a fist on top of the bed pads as he brought up another wave which cascaded over his arm and fist that was held close to his chest. “Guh-haah. No…I don’t wanna-Blurckkkggllbrlbrllkgrr!” After that huge chuck-up, his body paused its purging for a few moments, letting Dave catch his breath. He groaned lowly “When’s it gonna stop?” he choked out, exhausted and miserable. 

“Uuuuugggghhhh” he wrapped an arm around his belly, shaking and drooling. Strands of sticky saliva mixed with puke dripped out of his nose. He felt something soft cleaning his face and tried to focus his eyes on Bro’s hand, seeing wads of tissues. Right, there was a box of tissues on the side table. 

“You’re halfway done now” Bro guessed, dropping the tissues onto the messy bed. “Do you feel like you can get up to lean over the edge?” He wanted to try and get him to use a bucket but he knew there wasn’t much chance of that happening. 

Dave’s head was heavy and the room was spinning around him “N-nooo” he moaned out, upset and unwilling. “I don’ ev-even kno-w-w which dire-ection I’m in” 

“It’s okay, it’s fine. I’m not gonna force you. Are you dizzy?” 

“Uhh huhhh. Sho…dizzy” 

Bro reached to feel Dave’s forehead and cup his cheek “Oh yeah, hot too. I’ll get you more medicine once you’re done puking”

“I don’t wanna go on that ride anymore” Dave whined, clumsily slurring the words. He then gagged and brought up a new thick gush of what looked like chunky guacamole. Bro wasn’t going to be able to eat that again for a while. 

Bro stroked his hair back from his forehead, his voice full of compassion and regret “I know. I’m sorry. I’m sorry you have to go through this. I wish it was me” he said again, bracing Dave’s body as he jerked with another heave and a tight spasm of his abdominal muscles, liquid sloshing everywhere. Bro held his shoulder, his other hand on Dave’s forehead while vomit poured out of his mouth and nose. 

Dave cried while puking, breaking down into sobs that kept getting interrupted by puking. 

Bro talked to him and shushed him, feeling useless but still trying to be as much help as he could have. It took a good fifteen minutes for things to finally start winding down. And Dave was still crying. 

“Shhhh, shhhh, honey. I know, I know. It’s almost over” Bro soothed, patting Dave’s back to help him bring up the last of it. “Come on, there you go…” 

Dave’s last bout of vomiting finally finished, ending up in painful dry heaves and small splurts of leftover liquid. Bro stopped patting his back once Dave was dry heaving and started coaching him how to breathe instead, rubbing his back instead. Once Dave stopped hiccupping and the gagging subsided, Bro stood and scooped the sore, exhausted boy into his arms. The bed was an absolute mess and so was Dave; basically bathed in his own gastric contents. It had soaked into his clothes on the side he was laying on and of course at the start he puked all over his front anyway. It was in his hair too and basically everywhere. And Bro had been in the splash zone too. They both felt cold and squishy and the puke smelled awful. Bro cringed as he tried not to drip a trail through the house on the way to the bathroom. 

He got them both into the tub, stepping in with Dave and sitting down, cradling his body close up against him. He started to undress Dave, then himself, tossing the clothes over the edge with heavy splats. Bro reached out and unhooked the shower head thing from its holder, turning the water on and testing the temperature before he began washing Dave off first. He let the green murky water slide down the drain, rinsing them both off and making sure the bath tub was free of puke before he put in the plug and started running what felt like the hundredth bath that day. He let the water get nice and deep before he turned it off. His water and heating bill was going to be a pain to deal with when it came. Bro sighed. He’d worry about that later. For now he held Dave close, leaning him back against his body with one arm around him so he wouldn’t sink under the water. It was a gentle warmth, not too hot since Dave was still rocking a high fever. Bro started to scoop up water and pour it onto him with his hand. 

Dave blinked slowly, cuddling up to Bro. He looked like he was struggling to stay awake. “Bro-ooo….’m dizzyyy” he complained, his words faint and breathy. 

“I know. Just lean against me. I got ya baby” Bro reassured him. “S’alright, if ya pass out I won’t let you drown” he soothed. “Does this feel nice? Are your muscles relaxing in the warm water?” 

“Hnnnn” Dave made an ambiguous noise that sounded slightly positive. 

Bro carefully washed his hair, holding him up with one arm and a bent leg which he braced against Dave’s back. He scrubbed the shampoo and conditioner in as best he could with one hand then rinsed them out, making sure to get out all the soap so it wouldn’t make Dave’s scalp itchy. He washed his own face and body briefly. Once the water went cool, he decided to pull the plug. It drained and Bro grabbed two more towels off the rack on the wall by the foot of the bath, wrapping one around Dave and drying him off before tying one around his own waist. He picked Dave up out of the bath and carried him down the hall back into Bro’s bedroom. He laid him down on the bed and went to get clothes to redress him. 

Dave was limp and feverish while being dressed, and Bro doubted he even knew where he was or what was happening right now. He got him into some comfy loose clothing; pink underwear with hearts on them and a polyester cotton blend of summer pyjamas that were stretchy fabric. They were a pair of soft short shorts in a navy and red stripe pattern plus a red tshirt that had a wide bold navy stripe in the middle plus two smaller ones above and below it, with the number 16 in white print. Pretty cute since that was Dave’s current age, though he was acting younger because he was so out of sorts from the virus. Bro laid him down in bed, propped up against pillows, in particular a large triangle pillow that held him on either side. Bro hurried to get drinks and meds and came back into the room. He quickly threw on some underwear and shorts before going to pick up Dave and sit on the bed with him. Dave’s head lolled back against Bro’s arm and chest and Bro lightly slapped Dave’s cheek a few times, trying to bring him around. “Dave….Dave…come on, lil man, you can do it. Wake up for me honey, that’s it. Gotta get these medicines into you” he cooed. 

He poured a spoonful of the liquid medicine first and tipped it slowly into Dave’s half open mouth, pausing in increments to let him slowly swallow it. Dave made a face and started to cough a bit as he struggled to get it down and Bro took the drink bottle and popped it into his mouth, tipping it up slightly so he could get the Pedialyte from within. 

Dave’s eyes closed as he drank, taking tiny little driblets of liquid from the drink bottle but at least it was something. When he started to fall asleep, Bro roused him gently and got him to keep drinking. Once half of the bottle was empty, Bro let Dave drift off again. He lay down with him, cuddling him as Dave lay half on top of him. Bro gently styled Dave’s wet hair with his fingers, combing it and styling it so it wouldn’t dry out in weird angles. Dave slept heavily and Bro decided he had better get some rest as well, or he wouldn’t be much use to his kid. He set an alarm on his phone to wake himself up in a few hours’ time. Before Dave could wake him up by vomiting all over him, hopefully. He knew he was going to be up through the rest of the night with this. But hey, Jake should be here tomorrow morning. He was actually looking forward to that. They could really use the help.   
Also he had to go clean up the carpet and Dave’s bed and room, and the hallway. 

Bro drifted off to sleep almost immediately. Only to be woken what felt like minutes later by his phone alarm. He reached out to turn it off. Dave stirred slightly and started to make confused sleepy noises and Bro patted his back, “Go back to sleep, shhh” he coaxed the teen back to sleep. He then very carefully slid out from under Dave and got out of bed, pausing to rearrange the sheets and blankets and tuck him back in. He leaned down to kiss Dave’s temple and stroke his hair before quietly standing up and throwing on another t shirt. Bro went to the bathroom to use the toilet and splash some cold water on his face. He was tired. He came back into his bedroom and pulled back the covers, pushing Dave’s stretchy tee up to look at his tummy. He gently stroked his hand around on it as Dave groaned in his half asleep state, rubbing some soothing circles into it. “It’s filling up again…” Bro sighed. He figured he had two hours at the most before his kid would throw his guts up again. He went to go put on laundry and clean up the mess. The lights in the house were on but it was dark outside. Everyone was probably sleeping at this time of night. Bro wished that he and Dave were also sleeping without a care in the world right now. 

Dave woke up in a haze of heat and sweat. His skin was humid and slippery with dampness and he struggled to push the blankets off himself. He lay in the cool of the air con, shaking even though he felt like he was burning up. His hair was clinging to his forehead. He didn’t recognise the bedroom. 'Where am I?' he thought feverishly. The ceiling and walls tilted at weird angles. ‘I can’t get up’, Dave thought. He was so dizzy and his head was swimming. His vision was blurry too. “Bro…” Dave called out weakly. 

He could smell laundry detergent and cleaning chemicals. He felt sick to his stomach. His stomach felt incredibly full and it was shifting and churning a lot. Nausea began to overtake him, creeping through his body and up his throat. Dave’s breathing turned shallow and quickened. 

Splut! A brown coloured substance splurted out of his mouth without warning, splashing suddenly on the bedsheets and over the side of the mattress. Dave hyperventilated a bit.

“Bro!” he called out again, but his voice was weak and raspy. Another surge of liquid leaped out, this time thick and rushing, making splashing liquidy sounds as it flooded over Bro’s bedding. “I’m puking!” Dave gasped. He flinched when he felt someone’s hand on his forehead and a comforting voice.

“I know. I’m here. Sorry I didn’t come sooner. I was tied up in something” Bro said, “It’s okay. You can mess up my bed. I put pads down and a tablecloth. You’re all good”

“I don wanna mess it up” Dave complained pathetically, whining and bringing up another rush of vomit mid whine. “Hurglkk!” 

“Shh, it’s night time. I want you to relax as much as possible. When it’s all over, I’ll help you get back to sleep” Bro reassured him. 

Dave gagged and burped, bringing up lots more slime and chunks. He made a pained noise after as his stomach muscles were sore. It felt like he’d been someone’s punching bag. His mind was full of wild images. He was lying in the desert somewhere, on soft sand that radiated warmth from the many colourful suns floating overhead. He felt wetness on his body and realised he was lying in water, in the edge of a small oasis surrounded by palm trees. Tall, skinny ghost figures wavered around the edges of the lake, hiding in the trees. They were staring and whispering in many voices…looming over him. 

Dave drifted in and out of hallucinations. Through the waking nightmares, he heard a comforting voice and the touch of caring hands and strong arms. That presence protected him from anything that tried to hurt him. 

He was vaguely aware of being cleaned up with a damp cloth when he finally ran out of puke to bring up and his gagging slowly subsided. He felt himself being lifted and moved, clothes being tugged off his body, more damp cloths wiping his skin and then fresh smelling clothes being pulled back onto him. He was laid down on something clean, soft and dry and his head was cushioned with a soft pillow. 

He swallowed more medicine when it was fed into his mouth and drank ginger lemonade tasting liquids from a drink bottle, falling back to sleep after, having no idea where he was but able to feel he was somewhere soft and dry. A soft, lavender scented object was placed against his chest and he cuddled it close, breathing the relaxing scent. Dave fell asleep again for several more hours. 

Bro let himself fall asleep again too, once things were cleaned up once more and Dave was clean, medicated, rehydrated and in a dry, clean bed in his own room. 

Dave woke up one more time during the early hours of the morning but Bro was ready for it, having set himself an alarm so he’d wake up before it happened. He helped him get through puking everything up again, letting the absorbent pads soak up most of the liquid while the vinyl tablecloth protected the mattress. He hadn’t tried to get more food in him for a while but he was doing great at keeping him hydrated so even though Dave was vomiting insane amounts of virus slime, he wasn’t deteriorating to the point of needing the hospital. 

Bro was grossed out by the vomit being mustard yellow this time. Seriously, how did it keep changing colours like that? In the end, once Dave finished spitting out the last driblets of liquid and Bro got him cleaned up again and resting safely, Bro had to spend some time cleaning it all up and taking the multi-coloured trash out to the rubbish chute. He ran the air purifier in Dave’s bedroom to try and clear the air and sprayed some more Febreeze but the whole house smelled like sickness by this point. Bro put on more laundry, soaked bedding and sheets in stain remover, cleaned stains out of carpets and wiped every surface down with wipes again. Hopefully Jake couldn’t catch this. 

***

The next time Dave awoke, it was to voices around him. The house was lit with watery light. It was raining heavily outside, thunder rumbling and lightning flashing occasionally.

“Looks like it’s going to pour all day” A voice said somewhere distant, cheerful despite the weather. 

“Heyyy, he’s awake. Hold on Jake, I gotta go tend to him” Bro appeared kneeling before Dave, and his hand gently cupped the side of Dave’s face and under his jaw “Hey there baby, are you with us?”

Dave made a soft, confused sleepy noise. 

“It’s okay. You’re on the futon again” he explained “In the living room. How are you feeling?” 

Dave groaned softly and blinked heavy eyelids. “Yucky”

“Still sick huh? Thought you would be. Jake’s here to help us out. You’ve been out for a good four hours” 

“Wanna stay out” Dave replied clumsily, his words slurred. He sighed at the soothing touch of Bro’s cool, dry hand petting his hair back and stroking his sweaty cheek. 

“I know. I would too. You’re hot stuff” Bro teased gently but his words were warm and caring, “Let’s check your stomach” He pulled back the sheets and blanket and he didn’t need to push up his sleep top to confirm that his stomach was swollen and full of fluids again. It gurgled loudly and Dave let out a pained moan, dribbling a little bit of saliva out the side of his mouth. His muscles were sore and his belly was aching. It was so tight and the pressure was sickening. 

“Cripes, that doesn’t look good” Jake said, moving closer beside Bro. “Is that all virus?” 

“Yep” Bro answered grimly. “He’s gonna throw up any minute. Wait there while I go get a bucket” he held up his palm in a wait motion as he got up and hurried off to find Dame Edna. 

Jake kept an eye on Dave as the teen moaned and rolled onto his side, clutching his stomach, “Broooo” he made a small strained sound in the back of his throat and started whimpering, his breathing getting heavier and faster. “I need Broooo” 

Bro ran past in the background “Holy shit I can’t find it. Where did I leave that?!” he was frantically looking for it. 

Jake got an idea “Hold on chap, stay right there. Try and hold it in!” he said, giving Dave’s upper arm a reassuring squeeze. He ran into the kitchen and started rummaging in the cupboards, finding what he was searching for “Don’t worry Dirk, I got a container!” He declared loudly, triumphant. He turned on his heel and hurried back to Dave’s side, plopping himself down on the edge of the futon beside Dave’s head. “Come here sweetheart, up we go” Jake said, reaching out strong arms and pulling Dave up into a sitting position, leaning back against Jake. He supported his back and head with one arm and plonked the container in Dave’s lap with his other, holding it steady.

Bro came back into the living room looking confused “Did you find it? Oh. Jake, that’s- ”

“Nothing to worry about!” Jake interrupted nonchalantly. “I’ve got it under control. You’ve been dealing with all this on your own, why don’t you let me care for him this time?” Jake offered. 

Jake was unwittingly holding an empty ice cream tub container for Dave to use. 

Bro quickly replied “That’s not gonna hold all of it. That’s not gonna be enough” 

“What do you mean? Whenever I was sick, I always used an empty ice cream container. This’ll be fine” Jake stated with confidence and cheerful oblivion. “We can always tip it out when it gets full” 

Dave leaned forwards slightly, drool slipping past his lips as he let out a low groan. He made a soft choking noise as his saliva pattered into the tub. His slender body was trembling in Jake’s grasp. 

Bro’s eyes widened “He’s gonna blow. Shit, shit…” Bro darted out of the room and started running through the house again, looking for the pink bucket. 

Dave had started crying and tensing up, completely freaked out “I don’t wanna do this anymore. I don’t wanna” he cried, upset. “Please! I don’t wanna-fuck-no -!” he was cut off by a severe spasm of his stomach that produced a thick waterfall of white puke. It splashed spectacularly into and straight back up out of the ice cream tub, splattering both him and Jake. Flecks landed on Jake’s glasses lens. 

Dave sucked in a short breath and vomited again, jerking forwards slightly. Porridge coloured vomit slopped over the side of the container and across Dave and Jake’s laps. It sounded like the garden hose on full hitting cement. 

Jake’s face was priceless, a mixture of shock and disgust “Ewwwwww!” he yelled. “Dirk! Help!” 

Bro uttered a short laugh as he reappeared with Dame Edna just in time to witness the spectacle “I warned you. Here, use this” he said, shoving a pink bucket with stickers on it into Jake’s arms. 

Jake quickly moved the useless ice cream tub and put Dame Edna under Dave’s chin but most of the damage was done and they were both a mess. 

Dave kept vomiting forcefully. “Hurggg! Ghbllrrrgggg! Hurrrkk” The puke drummed on the sides and bottom of the pink bucket and was quickly replaced by the sounds of liquid hitting more liquid. It was filling up fast. 

“Holy balls! This stuff just keeps coming!” Jake exclaimed as Dave kept throwing up. He was rubbing the boy’s back to try and help but he felt pretty useless. 

“That’s what I was trying to tell you” Bro retorted, “Here, you gotta hold his head up, like this” he reached out to place a hand on Dave’s forehead, holding him steady. 

“How is this even possible?” 

“I’ve stopped questioning that ages ago. Just deal with it. Clean it up. Take care of the kid, repeat for an indeterminable amount of time; it’s okay sweetheart, it’s not your fault” he switched to talking to Dave again, who was crying and puking at the same time and very upset. “I’m here. Don’t worry. You’re doing great…you’re gonna be okay” He sat down on the edge of the futon and helped out, reaching to rub Dave’s arm. 

“I can’t- gurrrgh! S-sto- hurrgh!” Dave choked out between vomits. 

“I know, I know. Don’t fight it. Remember you gotta stay nice and calm for me. Just let it come out, that’s it” Bro coached him. “We’ve got you” 

Dave kept throwing up, feeling like a tube of toothpaste being squeezed over and over again. The room was filled with the sounds of him puking. Jake looked scared but determined and did his best to hold up the sick teen as he kept erupting with white chunky slime. 

“I think I underestimated this virus terribly. When you said puking I just thought a bad stomach flu” Jake admitted. “He’s so sick. I’ve never seen so much vomit come out of one person! Oh, honey…there, there, it’s okay” he kept rubbing Dave’s back, holding him close against his side so he wouldn’t pitch forwards into his own mess. 

The pink bucket got full and Dave was still going. Dirk looked at Jake ‘Here babe, can you hold him? I need to get another bucket”

Another stream of vomit tumbled into the bucket and it overflowed, white chunky liquid flowing over the side and splattering on to Dave’s legs and the futon and bedding. Dirk got up carefully, passing Dave completely into Jake’s grasp while he got up and took the pink bucket away. He put it on the ground beside the far end of the futon. “Don’t kick that over. I’ll be back” Bro flash stepped to the laundry and grabbed the nearest bucket he could find, flashing back to Dave and slipping it under his chin. Dave had brought up some surges of puke all over himself and the bedding in the couple of moments there wasn’t a bucket in place but he was soon back to filling up bucket number two. 

More vomiting and splashing sounds echoed through the house. It was a big bucket and Dave lost track of how many times he puked as the minutes ticked by. All he knew was that by the time he was finished and being gripped by small empty gags, the bucket was full, his vision was blurry and he was only semi conscious. He lay back against someone, panting and shaking like he’d just run a marathon. He was vaguely aware of cool hands touching his forehead and face, and voices tuned in and out like a radio with bad reception, letting him hear snatches of word and phrases. He was lifted up into strong arms. He breathed a comforting scent. Bro. 

“We should take him to the hospital” 

“No. Not yet. He wants me. He needs me. Not some nurse. We’ve gotten through up till now. If he’s still this sick later, I’ll…” Dave’s hearing turned to static. 

Bro felt him go completely limp in his arms and cursed. “Dave? Dave! Shit, this is the second time he’s passed out cold” He sat down on the edge of his bed and tried to bring his child around, lightly patting his cheek. He tried to keep the worry and panic out of his voice but it was evident. “Dave….come on honey, wake up for me. Come on…that was one of the biggest pukes you’ve done yet. Shoot.. Damnit, Jake, get the phone, I need you to call an amb…wait….oh, thank gods. Dave. Here, here, look at me baby” Bro cupped Dave’s jaw and turned his face gently to look up at him, watching his eyes struggle to focus. “Come on sweetie. That’s it, look at me… are you with me? I’m here. It’s your Bro. Are you okay? Tell me what hurts” 

“D-Da…ddy” Dave uttered, weak and struggling 

A flicker of shock crossed Dirk’s face but it was brief. “Yeah. It’s okay. I’m here” Bro leaned down, pressing his forehead against Dave’s hot sweaty skin in relief before pulling back. He planted a kiss on his forehead and stroked his hair back. “You okay now? It’s all over. You can just rest and sip on some cold fluids…” 

“I’ll…get…better?” Dave struggled to get the words out. He gripped weakly onto Dirk’s shirt and snuggled into him. His red eyes seemed to be going in and out of focus, but he was staring at his Bro’s face. 

“We’re gonna make sure you get better” Dirk promised. “If that happens again, you’re going to the hospital but I’ll be with you every step of the way. I won’t leave you; I’ll be right there by your side, like I promised” 

After that though, Dave slowly started to get better. Dirk and Jake cleaned him up, got more medicine and fluids into him, helped him eat small amounts of easy to digest foods and liquids, and held or comforted him while he was sick. He vomited up a bucket and a half worth of banana yellow puke some hours later, though not into actual buckets because he was on his side in bed when it happened and too weak and sore to get up. It went all over the absorbent bed pads and over the side onto the carpet that time. Then after clean up, more meds and rehydration, he rested again and the next time he woke vomiting, it was a bucket full of orange slime (an estimate which mostly ended up all over Bro, who’d been cradling Dave in his arms the whole time regardless of the messy risk he knew he was taking). The next time it was half a bucket, again soaked into absorbent bed pads, and the final few times, it was just a little bit of normal amounts of puke that got soaked up onto old towels. When Dave finally fell asleep after the last bout of vomiting, he was out for a solid eight hours straight. He wet the bed in his sleep but that was a minor thing compared to what the boy had been through. Bro and Jake had successfully tag teamed the virus and emerged victorious. 

Bro didn’t go to work for two weeks, taking some emergency annual leave to be with Dave as he helped him recover and took care of him. It took about that long for Dave to regain his normal mode of life, to have normal energy levels, be able to eat whatever he wanted and to do the things he normally enjoyed. His friends visited as soon as he was feeling up to seeing them and Bro thought the house was clean enough and he spent time watching movies and playing games together. 

Jake took care of Dirk and Dave both, making meals and running errands, giving Dirk shoulder massages, and generally being helpful and devoted. He shared his stories about Japan, and other places he’d travelled, all the things he’d seen and done. Jake was greatly entertaining for them both. 

Bro spent most of his time with Dave, bringing him gifts, spending time doing small crafts like helping him make glitter slime or colouring books together while watching TV, getting him his favourite foods and drinks, and basically doting on him. 

Dave hoped he’d never catch the warmblood virus ever again. But he knew if he did, Bro would be there to help him beat it.


End file.
